| Nationality: | Dutch French |
| Hans van Helden | |
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| Birth Date: | 27 April 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Almkerk, the Netherlands |
| Country: | Netherlands France |
| Height: | 1.8m (05.9feet) |
| Weight: | 75kg (165lb) |
| Pb: | 500 m: 39.08 (1988) 1000 m: 1:16.32 (1988) 1500 m: 1:55.61 (1976) 3000 m: 4:08.11 (1984) 5000 m: 6:57.69 (1988) 10 000 m: 14:34.88 (1988) |
| Sport: | Speed skating |
| Club: | CEPG, Paris |
| Coach: | Frank Sverre Furuset, Marie-France Van Helden |
| Turnedpro: | 1973 |
| Retired: | 1988 |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Hans van Helden (born 27 April 1948) is a former speed skater, originally competing for the Netherlands, later for France.
Despite being a very talented speed skater and having an excellent skating style and technique, Van Helden never won any major international tournaments. However, he did become Dutch Allround Champion twice (1976 and 1977) and he did break two world records. Being the then-current world record holder on the 5,000 m, he "only" finished 3rd on that distance during the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, possibly because the ice was in much worse condition during his race than it was when his major rivals (Sten Stensen and Piet Kleine) ran theirs.
In Dutch skating, Van Helden was known as an enfant terrible. His clashes with fellow Dutch skaters, his being fed up with fighting the KNSB (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders Bond – the Royal Dutch Skaters Federation), and (in 1980) his marriage to a French skater (Marie-France Vives), led to his naturalisation to French citizenship in December 1981. As a Frenchman, having very little competition from other French skaters, he had no problems qualifying for skating events. This also resulted in a long career as a speed skater and he participated in international competitions until he was 40.
One of his most memorable feats was finishing 4th on the 1,500 m during the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, aged 35, and well ahead of his former compatriots, Dutchmen Hilbert van der Duim, Frits Schalij, and Hein Vergeer.
Van Helden was number one on the Adelskalender, the all-time allround speed skating ranking, from 13 March 1976 to 25 December 1976 – a total of 287 days. He has an Adelskalender score of 163.047 points.
Over the course of his career, Van Helden skated two world records:
| Event | Result | Date | Location | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5000 m | 7:07.82 | 30 January 1976 | Davos | World record until 5 March 1976 | |
| 1500 m | 1:55.61 | 13 March 1976 | Inzell | World record until 20 March 1977 |
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[1]
Season | Dutch Championships Allround | European Championships Allround | Olympic Games | World Championships Allround | World Championships Sprint | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1970–71 | DQ 500m 17th 5000m 12th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||
1971–72 | 4th 500m 13th 5000m 6th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall(13th) | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||
1972–73 | 500m 5th 5000m 1500m 27th 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||
1973–74 | 5th 500m 4th 5000m 1500m 5th 10000m 4th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||
| 1974–75 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||
1975–76 | 500m 5000m 1500m 10000m overall | |||||||||
1976–77 | 500m 5000m 1500m 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||
1977–78 | 500m 4th 5000m 1500m DNS 10000m 12th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||
| 1978–79 | 7th 500m 5000m 4th 1500m 5th 10000m 4th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||
1979–80 | 8th 500m 5th 5000m 1500m 6th 10000m 4th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||
1980–81 | 4th 500m 9th 5000m 5th 1500m 11th 10000m 7th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||
1981–82 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||
1982–83 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 8th 500m 19th 5000m 13th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (17th) | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||
1983–84 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||
1984–85 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 22nd 500m 24th 5000m 27th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (26th) | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 33rd 500m 22nd 5000m 27th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (27th) | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||
1985–86 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||
1986–87 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 23rd 500m 24th 5000m 21st 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (24th) | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 28th 500m 32nd 5000m 31st 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (31st) | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||
1987–88 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 14th 500m 18th 5000m 13th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (18th) | bgcolor=#EEEEEE |
| Championship | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 0 |