| Thialf | |
| Logo Image: | THIALF Logo 2016.jpg |
| Location: | Pim Mulierlaan 1[1] Heerenveen, Netherlands |
| Coordinates: | 52.9386°N 5.942°W |
| Broke Ground: | 1966 |
| Opened: | 14 October 1967 (outdoor) 17 November 1986 (indoor) |
| Renovated: | 2001, 2004, 2015–16 |
| Owner: | Essent, Aegon, and the city of Heerenveen |
| Surface: | 15,000 m2 (Hal 1) 1800 m2 (Hal 2) |
| Architect: | Alynia Architecten Harlingen bv |
| Capacity: | 12,500 seats |
| Tenants: | UNIS Flyers (Ice hockey venue) |
Thialf (pronounced as /nl/) is an ice arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Thialf is used for long track speed skating, short track speed skating, ice hockey, figure skating, ice speedway,[2] and non-sporting events. The outdoor rink was opened in 1967, and the indoor stadium was opened in 1986. Several world records have been set in the indoor stadium.
Annually, Thialf hosts two Speed Skating World Cup events. Jan de Jong was the ice rink master at Thialf for many years.
Thialf is named after Thialfi, a character in Norse mythology, who was Thor's servant and had to race a giant.[3]
Construction on the artificial outdoor ice rink was started in 1966, and it was opened on 14 October 1967 by Princess Christina of the Netherlands. It was the third 400m artificial ice rink in the Netherlands, after the Jaap Eden baan in Amsterdam and the IJsselstadion in Deventer. Several national and international tournaments have been held in Thialf, but only one world record has been set on the outdoor rink, by Andrea Schöne on the 5000 m in 1983.
The roofed stadium, which seats 12,500 people, opened on 17 November 1986, about a year after Sportforum Hohenschönhausen in Berlin, which was the first 400m indoor speed skating oval in the world. Thanks to the indoor conditions, allowing climate control, almost all world speed skating records were broken at Thialf in the first season.[4] Since 1988 it has been overtaken as the "fastest ice in the world" by the high-altitude indoor rinks in Calgary and Salt Lake City, which have the additional benefit of low air pressure.
Every year there are main skating events like the Dutch, European and World championships, and one or two Speed Skating World Cup events in Thialf.
The 2500-seat ice hockey arena adjacent to the speed skating oval is the home arena of the Heerenveen Flyers, one of the Netherlands' most successful ice hockey clubs. It is also the main arena used in the Netherlands for international ice hockey tournaments, hosting the IIHF World U18 Championships (Division II, Group A) in late March 2012.
The stadium was renovated in 2016.[5] [6]
| Discipline | in: | |
|---|---|---|
| 1968*, 1969, 1973, 1979, 1982, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 | ||
| 1969*, 1973*, 1979*, 1982*, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2012 | ||
| 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
* Dutch allround 1968: only for women.
* Dutch sprint: 1969, 1973, 1979, 1982: only for men.
| Discipline | in: | |
|---|---|---|
| Men: 1971, 1975 Women: 1970, 1981, 1982, 1983 M+W: 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013 |
| Discipline | in: | |
|---|---|---|
| Men: 1976, 1977, 1980, 1987, 1991 Women: 1972, 1974, 1992 M+W: 1998, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2014, | ||
| 1985, 1989, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2011 | ||
| 1999, 2012, 2015 |
| Discipline | in: | |
|---|---|---|
| 2006–07: WC1 + WC6 2007–08: WC4 + WC9 2008–09: WC2 + WC8 2009–10: WC2 + WC7 2010–11: WC1 + WC8 (final) 2011–12: WC3 + WC6 2012–13: WC1 + WC9 (final) 2013–14: WC6 (final) 2014–15: WC4 + WC6 |
These are the current track records in Thialf.
| Men | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Time | Skater | Date | Duration | |
| 500 m | 34.07 |  Tatsuya Shinhama | 8 March 2020 | days | |
| 1000 m | 1:07.09 |  Pavel Kulizhnikov | 12 January 2020 | days | |
| 1500 m | 1:43.00 | Kjeld Nuis | 8 March 2020 | days | |
| 3000 m | 3:35.26 | Patrick Roest | 19 December 2020 | days | |
| 5000 m | 6:04.36 | Patrick Roest | 19 November 2022 | days | |
| 10000 m | 12:32.95 |  Nils van der Poel | 14 February 2021 | days | |
| Team sprint | 1:18.31 | 6 January 2024 | days | ||
| Team pursuit | 3:34.22 | 5 January 2024 | days | ||
| Women | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Time | Skater | Date | Duration | |
| 500 m | 37.02 | Angelina Golikova | 8 March 2020 | days | |
| 1000 m | 1:12.80 | Jutta Leerdam | 28 December 2022 | days | |
| 1500 m | 1:52.95 | Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong | 28 December 2022 | days | |
| 3000 m | 3:54.04 | Irene Schouten | 20 November 2022 | days | |
| 5000 m | 6:41.25 | Irene Schouten | 5 March 2023 | days | |
| 10000 m | 14:35.61 | Carien Kleibeuker | 13 March 2018 | days | |
| Team sprint | 1:26.17 | 10 January 2020 | days | ||
| Team pursuit | 2:54.12 | 9 January 2022 | days | ||
The following world records were set in Thialf.
| Men | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Time | Skater | Dates | |
| Set | Broken | |||
| 500 m | 36.55 |  Nick Thometz | 19-03-1987 | 14-02-1988 |
| 1000 m | 1:12.58 | Igor Zhelezovski | 25-02-1989 | 17-12-1993 |
| 1500 m | 1:52.70 | Nikolay Gulyayev | 15-02-1987 | 05-12-1987 |
| 1:48.88 | Rintje Ritsma | 20-12-1997 | 12-02-1998 | |
| 3000 m | 3:59.27 | Leo Visser | 19-03-1987 | 13-03-1990 |
| 3:57.52 |  Johann Olav Koss | 13-03-1990 | 03-04-1992 | |
| 3:52.67 | Jelmer Beulenkamp | 25-02-1998 | 21-03-1998 | |
| 5000 m | 6:47.01 | Leo Visser | 14-02-1987 | 22-11-1987 |
| 6:45.44 | Geir Karlstad | 22-11-1987 | 04-12-1987 | |
| 6:41.73 | Johann Olav Koss | 09-02-1991 | 22-01-1993 | |
| 6:38.77 | Johann Olav Koss | 22-01-1993 | 13-03-1993 | |
| 6:36.57 | Johann Olav Koss | 13-03-1993 | 04-12-1993 | |
| 6:30.63 | Gianni Romme | 07-12-1997 | 08-02-1998 | |
| 10000 m | 14:03.92 | Geir Karlstad | 15-02-1987 | 06-12-1987 |
| 13:43.54 | Johann Olav Koss | 10-02-1991 | 20-02-1994 | |
| 13:03.40 | Gianni Romme | 26-11-2000 | 20-02-2002 | |
| 12:57.92 | Carl Verheijen | 04-12-2005 | 31-12-2005 | |
| 12:49.88 | Sven Kramer | 11-02-2007 | 10-03-2007 | |
| 12:32.95 | Nils van der Poel | 14-02-2021 | 11-02-2022 | |
| Women | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Time | Skater | Dates | |
| Set | Broken | |||
| 500 m | 39.43 | Bonnie Blair | 19-03-1987 | 06-12-1987 |
| 3000 m | 4:16.85 | Yvonne van Gennip | 19-03-1987 | 05-12-1987 |
| 4:07.80 | Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann | 07-12-1997 | 13-12-1997 | |
| 4:05.08 | Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann | 14-03-1998 | 27-03-1998 | |
| 5000 m | 7:40.97 | Andrea Schöne | 23-01-1983 | 15-01-1984 |
| 7:20.36 | Yvonne van Gennip | 20-03-1987 | 28-02-1988 | |
| 6:55.34 | Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann | 25-11-2000 | 10-03-2001 | |
The arena has hosted concerts by many famous artists, including Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, André Rieu, TOTO, Trance Energy and Prince, among others.
Also, the national Miss Universe competition was held in Thialf several times.