Hein Vergeer

Henricus Coenradus Nicolaas "Hein" Vergeer (born 2 May 1961) is a Dutch former speed skater who became both European and World Allround Champion in both 1985 (in which year he also became National Sprint Champion) and 1986 (in which year he also became National Allround Champion). Hein Vergeer was a dominant allround skater, but after recovering from an injury, he was never able to reach that same level again. Because of this, he was unable to fulfil his wish of winning an Olympic medal – at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Vergeer competed in the 500 m, the 1,000 m, and the 1,500 m, but his best result was a mere fifteenth place. He had also competed in those same three distances at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo four years earlier, but did not do much better than with a tenth place as his best result. Unfortunately for Vergeer, his best years were in between those two Winter Olympics.[1]

Hein Vergeer

Hein Vergeer in 1985
Personal information
Birth name	Henricus Coenradus Nicolaas Vergeer
Nationality	Dutch
Born	(1961-05-02) 2 May 1961 Haastrecht, Netherlands
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
Country	Netherlands
Sport	Speed skating
Turned pro	1980
Coached by	Henk Gemser
Retired	1988
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	500 m: 37.79 (1987) 1000 m: 1:14.62 (1988) 1500 m: 1:53.88 (1987) 3000 m: 4:01.21 (1987) 5000 m: 6:54.91 (1986) 10 000 m: 14:39.05 (1986)
Medal record Representing the  Netherlands Men's Speed Skating World Allround Championships 1985 Hamar Allround 1986 Inzell Allround European Allround Championships 1985 Eskilstuna Allround 1986 Oslo Allround 1987 Trondheim Allround

Despite his dominance, Vergeer never managed to skate any world records. This could label him as a "true" all-round skater – very good at all distances, but never the best in any single distance.

Vergeer lived during his skating years in Haastrecht, a town where Leo Visser, another former World Champion speed skating, also used to live. Both skaters used to train at the skating club STV Lekstreek.

Back in the days of Vergeer's dominance, speed skating was not very lucrative, so Vergeer did what many other top skaters in those days did – he used his fame as a stepping stone to a career in marketing and communication. Vergeer currently is an advisor of several ventures and he organises events.

In 2006 and 2007, Vergeer participated in the Holiday on Ice show called Fantasy.