Sjoukje Dijkstra
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra |
| Country represented |
 Netherlands |
| Born |
28 January 1942 (1942-01-28) (age 70)
Akkrum |
| Height |
1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Former coach |
Arnold Gerschwiler |
|
|
Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌʃʌukjə ˈdɛikstrɑ], born 28 January 1942 in Akkrum, Netherlands) is a Dutch figure skater. She is the 1964 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (1962–1964), five-time European champion (1960–1964), and the six-time Dutch national champion (1959–1964).
Following the retirement of Carol Heiss in 1960, who took gold medals in Winter Olympics and World Championships that year to Dijkstra's silver medals in both competitions, Dijkstra became the dominant skater in Ladies Figure Skating. She won all the World and European Championships held between 1961 and 1964 (1961 World Championships was cancelled after Sabena Flight 548 Crash). Her win at the 1964 Winter Olympics was the first gold for the Netherlands at the Winter Olympics[citation needed]. She is the last person to have won Olympic gold medal after winning a silver or bronze medal in a prior Olympic in Ladies Figure Skating. After 1964, she turned professional and toured with Holiday On Ice from 1964 to 1972. She became the advisor to the figure skating section of the Dutch Skating Federation in 1985. Currently she does commentary for Dutch television.
In 2005, she was awarded the Fanny Blankers-Koen Trophy, for her contributions to Dutch sports.
Dijkstra is the daughter of Lou Dijkstra, a speedskater who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics.
During her competitive career, Dijkstra trained in Richmond, London with Arnold Gerschwiler. While her main strength was compulsory figures, she was also a very powerful and athletic free skater who could perform high-quality double axels and flying spins, and who skated with easy movement and strong flow.[1][2] At 1.68 metres, she was fairly tall for a skater, and one magazine article noted that "she is much more slender in person than she appears on the ice".[1]
[edit] Results
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Europe's World Champions... 1962", Skating magazine, June 1962
- ^ "Lady Champion of the World", Skating magazine, June 1963
| Persondata |
| Name |
Dijkstra, Sjoukje |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
Figure skater |
| Date of birth |
1942-01-28 |
| Place of birth |
Akkrum |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
Netherlands
