| Nationality: | Dutch |
| Rintje Ritsma | |
| Nickname: | Beer van Lemmer |
| Headercolor: |
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| Birth Date: | 1970 4, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Lemmer, Netherlands |
| Weight: | 93kg (205lb) |
| Turnedpro: | 1988 |
| Retired: | 2008 |
| Pb: | 500 m: 38.90 (1999) 1000 m: 1:10.19 (1999) 1500 m: 1:45.86 (2002) 3000 m: 3:49.29 (2004) 5000 m: 6:20.26 (2005) 10 000 m: 13:28.19 (1998) |
| Website: | www.rintjeritsma.nl |
Robert Rintje Ritsma (born 13 April 1970)[1] is a Dutch former long track speed skater. His nickname is the Beer van Lemmer, which translates to the "Bear from Lemmer", analogous to Igor Zhelezovski's nickname "The Bear from Minsk", both of which are in reference to their imposing physical appearance.
He appeared in the Dutch version of The Masked Singer as the Springbok.
In October 2022 Ritsma started as the Dutch national speed skating coach of the team pursuit, team sprint, and the mass start.[2]
He has won the World Allround Championships 4 times. He won this title in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2001; he was second in 1998 and 2003; he was third in 1993, 1994 and 2000.
He has won the European Allround Championships a record 6 times: 1994-1996 and 1998-2000.
He participated in five Winter Olympics, winning two silver and four bronze medals, from the 1994, 1998 and 2006 Games.
He also stood at the top of the alltime world ranking, the Adelskalender, for a long time (1,125 days in total).
Over the course of his career, Ritsma skated 4 world records:
| Event | Result | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 meter | 1:51.60 | 8 January 1994 | World record until 16 February 1994 | |
| Big combination | 156.201 | 9 January 1994 | Hamar | World record until 4 January 1998 |
| 1500 meter | 1:48.88 | 20 December 1997 | Heerenveen | World record until 12 February 1998 |
| 152.651 | 7 February 1999 | Hamar | World record until 17 March 2002 | |
Source: SpeedskatingResults.com[4]
Season | Dutch Championships Single Distances | Dutch Championships Allround | Dutch Championships Sprint | European Championships Allround | Olympic Games | World Championships Single Distances | World Championships Allround | World Championships Sprint | World Cup GWC | World Championships Junior Allround | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987–88 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 15th 500m 7th 3000m 9th 1500m 4th 5000m 5th overall | ||||||||||
1988–89 | 23rd 500m 16th 1500m 12th 5000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 29th 500m 3000m 8th 1500m 5000m overall | ||||||||||
1989–90 | 11th 500m 8th 1500m 9th 5000m 15th 10000m | 8th 500m 5th 5000m 6th 1500m 5th 10000m 5th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||
1990–91 | 4th 1500m 4th 5000m 6th 10000m | 12th 500m 5th 5000m 12th 1500m 6th 10000m 7th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 13th 1500m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||
1991–92 | 5th 1000m 1500m 6th 5000m 7th 10000m | 500m 5000m 1500m 4th 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 4th 1500m 11th 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||||||||
1992–93 | 500m 1500m 5000m 10000m | 500m 5th 5000m 1500m 5th 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 1500m 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||||
1993–94 | 1500m 5000m 10000m | 500m 4th 5000m 1500m 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 27th 1000m 1500m 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||||||||
1994–95 | 1500m 5000m 10000m | 500m 6th 5000m 1500m 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 1500m 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||||
1995–96 | 1500m | 500m 5000m 1500m 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 8th 1500m 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||||||||
1996–97 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 500m 5000m 1500m 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 1500m 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||||||||
1997–98 | 1500m 5000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 1500m 4th 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||||||
1998–99 | 1500m 5000m 4th 10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 4th 500m 1000m 5th 500m 1000m 4th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 1500m 5th 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||||||
1999–2000 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 500m 5000m 1500m 5th 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 1500m 4th 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||||
2000–01 | 11th 1000m 5th 1500m 5000m | 24th 500m 13th 5000m 9th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC22 overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 1500m 9th 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||||
2001–02 | 9th 1000m 1500m 5000m | 500m 15th 5000m DNS 1500m DNS 10000m NC overall | 13th 500m 11th 1000m 13th 500m 12th 1000m 12th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 12th 1500m 16th 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||||||
2002–03 | 11th 1500m 6th 5000m | 8th 500m 6th 5000m 4th 1500m 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||||
2003–04 | 13th 5000m | 10th 500m 12th 5000m 10th 1500m 10th 10000m 9th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||
2004–05 | 25th 1500m 10th 5000m | 6th 500m 12th 5000m 13th 1500m 8th 10000m 7th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||
2005–06 | 22nd 1500m 4th 5000m | 5th 500m 5000m 11th 1500m 10000m overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 15th 5000/10000m | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | |||||||||||
2006–07 | 20th 5000m | 16th 500m 5th 5000m 21st 1500m 5th 10000m 6th overall | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | team pursuit | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | ||||||||||
2007–08 | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | 19th 500m 15th 5000m 22nd 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall(20) | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE | bgcolor=#EEEEEE |
On 1 December 2013 in Astana, Kazakhstan, Sven Kramer won his 30th ISU World Cup event thus surpassing Ritsma as the most successful Dutch World Cup speed skater.
| Season | 1500 meter | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17th | 20th | 22nd | 9th | – | |||||
| 4th | 10th | 10th | |||||||
| 4th | |||||||||
| 4th | 5th | ||||||||
| 5th | 5th | 6th | |||||||
| 5th | 4th | 5th | 4th | 8th | 12th | ||||
| – | – | 5th | |||||||
| 4th | 4th | – | |||||||
| 7th | 6th | – | |||||||
| 6th | 17th | 6th | |||||||
| 16th | 16th | ||||||||
| 5th | 11th | – | – | 6th | 10th | ||||
| Season | 5000/10000 meter | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 20th* | 7th | 14th | ||||||
| 4th | 9th | 8th* | |||||||
| 4th | 4th | 5th* | |||||||
| 7th* | |||||||||
| 4th | |||||||||
| –* | 6th | ||||||||
| 5th | 4th | 6th | – | ||||||
| 16th* | – | ||||||||
| 4th | 6th* | 13th | 4th | ||||||
| –* | 4th | – | 16th | ||||||
| 12th | 20th | – | – | ||||||
| 12th | 13th | –* | 15th | 8th | |||||
– = Did not participate
| Championship | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 7 | 12 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 12 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 29 | 20 | 14 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 82 | 68 | 55 |