Atje Keulen-Deelstra

Atje Keulen-Deelstra

Personal information
Born	31 December 1938 Grou, Netherlands
Died	22 February 2013 (aged 74) Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	60 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Country	Netherlands
Sport	Speed skating
Medal record Women's speed skating Representing  Netherlands Olympic Games 1972 Sapporo 1,000 m 1972 Sapporo 1,500 m 1972 Sapporo 3,000 m World Allround Championships 1970 West-Allis Allround 1972 Heerenveen Allround 1973 Strömsund Allround 1974 Heerenveen Allround World Sprint Championships 1970 West-Allis Sprint 1973 Oslo Sprint 1974 Innsbruck Sprint European Championships 1972 Inzell Allround 1973 Brandbu Allround 1974 Alma-Ata Allround Dutch Allround championships 1970 Allround 1972 Allround 1973 Allround 1974 Allround 1971 Allround Dutch Marathon Championships 1975 Artificial Ice 1976 Artificial Ice 1977 Artificial Ice 1978 Artificial Ice 1980 Artificial Ice

Atje Keulen-Deelstra (31 December 1938 – 22 February 2013) was a Dutch speed skater, who was a four-time World Allround Champion between the age of 32 and 36.^[1]

Biography

Atje Deelstra was born as the eldest of four siblings in a farmers family. As a teenager she did gymnastics, athletics and basketball, but finally chose speed skating.^[2] At the age of 16, she already won a junior title of Friesland and several cash prizes in the Netherlands. In 1962, she married Jelle Keulen (23 November 1931 – 28 July 2011), a farmer with whom she had three children born between 1963 and 1966.^[3][2][4]

When the Thialf arena opened in 1967 in Heerenveen, Keulen-Deelstra went there to work on a comeback. She quickly made much progress, but she was told over and over again that she was too old. Not a member of the Dutch speed skating team, she won the Dutch Allround Championships in 1970 at the age of 32, beating Dutch skating team members such as Ans Schut and multiple world champion Stien Kaiser. That same year, she became World Allround Champion. More successes soon followed when in 1972, she became Dutch, European, and World Allround Champion, a feat she then repeated the following two years (1973 and 1974). In addition, at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, she won one silver and two bronze medals.^[1]

In 1975, Keulen-Deelstra switched to marathon skating and she became Dutch Champion in that discipline five times. She won her last Dutch Marathon Championships title in 1980 when she was 42 years old. In 1997, just a few weeks after having been injured in a traffic accident, Keulen-Deelstra participated in the Elfstedentocht. She died of a cerebral infarction in 2013.^[4]

In the 1980s and early 1990s, her daughter Boukje Keulen (born 2 December 1963) also was a successful skater. Like her mother, Boukje went from short track through long track ("regular") to marathon speed skating.^[1]

Medals

An overview of medals won by Keulen-Deelstra at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each:

Championships	Gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
Winter Olympics		1972 (1,000 m)	1972 (1,500 m) 1972 (3,000 m)
World Allround	1970 1972 1973 1974
World Sprint		1973 1974	1970
European Allround	1972 1973 1974
Dutch Allround	1970 1972 1973 1974	1971

World records

Over the course of her career, Keulen-Deelstra skated 2 world records:

Distance	Result	Date	Location
1,500 m	2:17.2	14 March 1970	Inzell
Mini combination	182.805	16 January 1972	Inzell

References

Atje Keulen-Deelstra with husband and son in 1972

Notes

1. Atje Keulen-Deelstra. sports-reference.com
2. Atje Keulen-Deelstra (74) overleden. frieschdagblad.nl. 23 February 2013
3. Overlijdensbericht Jelle Keulen. Leeuwarder Courant. 30 July 2011.
4. Atje Keulen-Deelstra (74) overleden. nos.nl. 23 February 2013

Bibliography

• Bijlsma, Hedman with Tom Dekkers; Alex Dumas; Gé du Maine and Karel Verbeek. Schaatsseizoen '72–'73, deel 1: heren. Leusden, the Netherlands, September 1973.
• Bijlsma, Hedman with Tom Dekkers; Alex Dumas; Gé du Maine and Karel Verbeek. Schaatsseizoen '72–'73, deel 2: dames. Leusden, the Netherlands, November 1973.
• Bijlsma, Hedman with Tom Dekkers; Alex Dumas; Gé du Maine; Hans Niezen and Karel Verbeek. Schaatsseizoen '73–'74: Statistische terugblik. Leusden, the Netherlands, November 1974.
• Bijlsma, Hedman with Tom Dekkers; Arie van Erk; Gé du Maine; Hans Niezen; Nol Terwindt and Karel Verbeek. Schaatsseizoen '96–'97: 25e Jaargang 1996–1997, statistische terugblik. Assen, the Netherlands: Stichting Schaatsseizoen, 1997. ISSN 0922-9582.
• Eng, Trond. All Time International Championships, Complete Results: 1889 – 2002. Askim, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 2002.
• Fan der Fear, Ypk. Us Atsje (Frisian). Buitenpost, Friesland, Netherlands: Uitgeverij Alternatyf, 1974.
• Koomen, Theo. 10 Jaar Topschaatsen. Laren(NH), Netherlands: Uitgeverij Luitingh, 1971. ISBN 90-245-0114-8.
• Koomen, Theo. Topschaatsen 1972. Laren(NH), Netherlands: Uitgeverij Luitingh, 1972. ISBN 90-245-0152-0.
• Koomen, Theo. Topschaatsen 3. Laren(NH), Netherlands: Uitgeverij Luitingh, 1973. ISBN 90-245-0194-6.
• Kleine, Jan. Schaatsjaarboek 1968/69, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan. Amsterdam, Netherlands, Drukkerij Dico, 1968.
• Kleine, Jan. Schaatsjaarboek 1969–'70, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan. Ede, Netherlands, 1969.
• Kleine, Jan. Schaatsjaarboek 1970–'71, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan. Nijmegen, Netherlands, Schaatsjaarboek, 1970.
• Kleine, Jan. Schaatsjaarboek 1971–'72, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan. Nijmegen, Netherlands, Schaatsjaarboek, 1971.
• Kleine, Jan. Schaatsjaarboek 1972–'73, alles over het hardrijden op de lange baan. Nijmegen, Netherlands, Schaatsjaarboek, 1972.
• Maaskant, Piet. Atje Keulen-Deelstra vertelt exclusief haar story. Zwolle, Netherlands: La Rivière & Voorhoeve, 1970.
• Maaskant, Piet. Heya, Heya! Het nieuwe boek van de Schaatssport. Zwolle, Netherlands: La Rivière & Voorhoeve, 1970.
• Peereboom, Klaas. Van Jaap Eden tot Ard Schenk. Baarn, Netherlands: De Boekerij, 1972. ISBN 90-225-0346-1.
• Teigen, Magne. Komplette Resultater Internasjonale Mesterskap 1889 – 1989: Menn/Kvinner, Senior/Junior, allround/sprint. Veggli, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 1989. (Noors)
• Van Eyle, Wim. Een Eeuw Nederlandse Schaatssport. Utrecht, Netherlands: Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, 1982. ISBN 90-274-9476-2.
• Witkamp, Anton and Koning, Dolf (red.). Schaatsgoud '72. Bussum, Netherlands: Teleboek NV, 1972. ISBN 90-6122-204-4.

External links

• Atje Keulen-Deelstra at SpeedSkatingStats.com