Jeen van den Berg

Jeen van den Berg (8 January 1928 – 8 October 2014) was a Dutch long track speed skating athlete primarily known as the winner of the Elfstedentocht of 1954. He competed in the race a record seven times, with his first race being in 1947 and his final one in 1997.

On 3 February 1954, van den Berg finished the race in a record 7 hours and 35 minutes, a record finally bettered by Evert van Benthem 31 years later. He came third in the infamous 1963 race.

In 1973 he became the first Dutch marathon skate champion.

Olympic Games As a long-track speed skater, Van den Berg took part at the 1956 and 1960 Winter Olympics. In 1956 he finished 24th at the 5000 meters and in 1960 he ended 19th at the 5000 and 22nd at the 1500 meters.

Tournament overview Season Dutch Championships Allround European Championships Allround Olympic Games World Championships Allround Elfstedentocht Eleven City Tour Loosdrecht Tour Spannenburg Tour 1950–51 21st 500m 6th 5000m DNS 1500m DNS 10000m NC overall 1953–54 13th 500m 5000m 7th 1500m 6th 10000m 6th overall ca.200 km 1954–55 11th 500m 5000m 23rd 1500m 10000m 5th overall 1955–56 8th 500m 5000m 1500m 10000m overall 24th 5000m 6th ca.200 km 1956–57 27th 500m 11th 5000m 23rd 1500m 9th 10000m 16th overall 1957–58 27th 500m 16th 5000m 24th 1500m 7th 10000m 16th overall 38th 500m 7th 5000m 21st 1500m 14th 10000m 16th overall 1958–59 36th 500m 7th 5000m 25th 1500m 11th 10000m 16th overall 35th 500m 9th 5000m 35th 1500m 14th 10000m 15th overall 1959–60 24th 500m 13th 5000m 16th 1500m 13th 10000m 13th overall 19th 5000m 22nd 10000m 32nd 500m 10th 5000m 20th 1500m 4th 10000m 13th overall 1961–62 25th 500m 15th 5000m 11th 1500m 11th 10000m 11th overall ca.60 km 1962–63 17th 500m 8th 5000m 11th 1500m 10000m 6th overall ca.200 km 1963–64 ca.120 km DNS = Did not start NC = No classification source:

Personal life and death Married to Atty, van den Berg was a teacher by profession. In 2014 he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died in a nursing home on 8 October 2014 at the age of 86.