Hans van Helden

Hans van Helden (born 27 April 1948) is a former speed skater, originally competing for the Netherlands, later for France.

Life and career

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.

Tournament overview SeasonDutch Championships AllroundEuropean Championships AllroundOlympic GamesWorld Championships AllroundWorld Championships Sprint 1970–71 DQ 500m 17th 5000m 12th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall 1971–72 4th 500m 13th 5000m 6th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall(13th) 1972–73 500m 5th 5000m 1500m 27th 10000m overall 4th 500m 5th 5000m 1500m 6th 10000m overall 25th 500m 5th 5000m 11th 1500m 6th 10000m 7th overall 25th 500m 5th 1000m 24th 500m 8th 1000m 16th overall 1973–74 5th 500m 4th 5000m 1500m 5th 10000m 4th overall 10th 500m 5000m 6th 1500m 10000m overall 9th 500m 6th 5000m 1500m 12th 10000m 5th overall 22nd 500m 6th 1000m 24th 500m 1000m 8th overall 1974–75 1975–76 500m 5000m 1500m 10000m overall 4th 500m 5th 5000m 1500m 5th 10000m 5th overall 19th 500m 5th 1000m 1500m 5000m 10000m 4th 500m 5000m 5th 1500m 10th 10000m overall 12th 500m 1000m 19th 500m 1000m 4th overall 1976–77 500m 5000m 1500m 10000m overall 7th 500m 4th 5000m 6th 1500m 5th 10000m 5th overall 12th 500m 5000m 7th 1500m 11th 10000m 7th overall 1977–78 500m 4th 5000m 1500m DNS 10000m 12th overall 4th 500m 13th 5000m 7th 1500m 15th 10000m 12th overall 1978–79 7th 500m 5000m 4th 1500m 5th 10000m 4th overall 1979–80 8th 500m 5th 5000m 1500m 6th 10000m 4th overall 13th 500m 13th 5000m 13th 1500m 15th 10000m 13th overall 1980–81 4th 500m 9th 5000m 5th 1500m 11th 10000m 7th overall 1981–82 15th 500m 13th 5000m 9th 1500m 16th 10000m 15th overall 28th 500m 5th 5000m 15th 1500m 15th 10000m 15th overall 1982–83 8th 500m 19th 5000m 13th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (17th) 13th 500m 15th 5000m 6th 1500m 16th 10000m 14th overall 1983–84 13th 500m 10th 5000m 1500m 6th 10000m 6th overall 24th 500m 18th 1000m 4th 1500m 11th 5000m 25th 10000m 8th 500m 22nd 5000m 7th 1500m 15th 10000m 10th overall 1984–85 22nd 500m 24th 5000m 27th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (26th) 33rd 500m 22nd 5000m 27th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (27th) 1985–86 16th 500m 8th 5000m 14th 1500m 13th 10000m 14th overall 19th 500m 12th 5000m 26th 1500m 10th 10000m 14th overall 1986–87 23rd 500m 24th 5000m 21st 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (24th) 28th 500m 32nd 5000m 31st 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (31st) 1987–88 14th 500m 18th 5000m 13th 1500m DNQ 10000m NC overall (18th) 33rd 500m 29th 1000m 19th 1500m 22nd 5000m 23rd 10000m 30th 500m 7th 5000m 17th 1500m 10000m 8th overall NC = Did not qualify for the final distance; classification calculated from the three shorter distances DQ = Disqualified DNQ = Did not qualify for the final distance source:

Medals won ChampionshipGold Silver Bronze Dutch Allround 8 7 3 European Allround 2 3 2 Olympic Games 0 0 3 World Allround 3 0 2 World Sprint 2 1 0