Sjoukje Bouma

Bouma was the first Dutch female Dutch National Kortebaan Speed Skating Champion on 26 January 1933 in Sneek. Her time over 140 meters was 15.1 seconds.[2][3] She won the title seven years after Thijs Klompmaker became the first national for men on 22 January 1926. The prize money Bouma earned in the winter with skating, helped with supporting herself and her husband. During the celebration of the centenary of the Royal Dutch Skating Association (KNSB) in 1982, she rode as a guest of honor through the Thialf ice stadium in Heerenveen. Many of Bouma's skating equipment are in the Fries Scheepvaart Museum in Sneek; including her her skates, made by Pieter de Jong in Terhorne, with the black high sneakers that served as skating shoes, as well as her medals and a diary.[4]

Bouma was born in Grouw as a farmer's daughter. She was married with shipbuilder Libbe Stelwagen, the inventor of the sailing boat classes Flits, Aspirant and Top. They got one daughter Hetty. Bouma died at the age of 97 in Grouw, the place where she had lived all her life.[5][3]