Thialf

This article is about the sports arena. For the crane vessel, see SSCV Thialf.
Thialf
Map
LocationPim Mulierlaan 1[1]
Heerenveen, Netherlands
Coordinates52°56′19″N 5°56′31″E / 52.9386°N 5.94201°E / 52.9386; 5.94201
OwnerEssent, Aegon, and the city of Heerenveen
Capacity12,500 seats
Surface15,000 m2 (Hal 1)
1800 m2 (Hal 2)
Construction
Broke ground1966
Opened14 October 1967 (outdoor)
17 November 1986 (indoor)
Renovated2001, 2004, 2015–16
ArchitectAlynia Architecten Harlingen bv
Tenants
UNIS Flyers (Ice hockey venue)

Thialf (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtijɑlf]) is an ice arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Thialf is used for long track speed skating, short track speed skating, ice hockey, figure skating, ice speedway,[2] and non-sporting events. The outdoor rink was opened in 1967, and the indoor stadium was opened in 1986. Several world records have been set in the indoor stadium.[citation needed]

Annually, Thialf hosts two Speed Skating World Cup events. Jan de Jong was the ice rink master at Thialf for many years.

History

Ice skaters and their coaches during the World Cup in the season 2007–2008
Main entrance after renovation

Thialf is named after Thialfi, a character in Norse mythology, who was Thor's servant and had to race a giant.[3]

Construction on the artificial outdoor ice rink was started in 1966, and it was opened on 14 October 1967 by Princess Christina of the Netherlands. It was the third 400m artificial ice rink in the Netherlands, after the Jaap Eden baan in Amsterdam and the IJsselstadion in Deventer. Several national and international tournaments have been held in Thialf, but only one world record has been set on the outdoor rink, by Andrea Schöne on the 5000 m in 1983.

The roofed stadium, which seats 12,500 people, opened on 17 November 1986, about a year after Sportforum Hohenschönhausen in Berlin, which was the first 400m indoor speed skating oval in the world. Thanks to the indoor conditions, allowing climate control, almost all world speed skating records were broken at Thialf in the first season.[4] Since 1988 it has been overtaken as the "fastest ice in the world" by the high-altitude indoor rinks in Calgary and Salt Lake City, which have the additional benefit of low air pressure.

Every year there are main skating events like the Dutch, European and World championships, and one or two Speed Skating World Cup events in Thialf.

The 2500-seat ice hockey arena adjacent to the speed skating oval is the home arena of the Heerenveen Flyers, one of the Netherlands' most successful ice hockey clubs. It is also the main arena used in the Netherlands for international ice hockey tournaments, hosting the IIHF World U18 Championships (Division II, Group A) in late March 2012.

The stadium was renovated in 2016.[5][6]

Long track speed skating

Events

Dutch championships
Discipline in:
Allround 1968*, 1969, 1973, 1979, 1982, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Sprint 1969*, 1973*, 1979*, 1982*, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2012
Single Distance 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
* Dutch allround 1968: only for women.
* Dutch sprint: 1969, 1973, 1979, 1982: only for men.
European championships
Discipline in:
Allround Men: 1971, 1975
Women: 1970, 1981, 1982, 1983
M+W: 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013
World championships
Discipline in:
Allround Men: 1976, 1977, 1980, 1987, 1991
Women: 1972, 1974, 1992
M+W: 1998, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2014,
Sprint 1985, 1989, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2011
Single Distance 1999, 2012, 2015
World Cup
Discipline in:
World Cup 2006–07: WC1 + WC6
2007–08: WC4 + WC9
2008–09: WC2 + WC8
2009–10: WC2 + WC7
2010–11: WC1 + WC8 (final)
2011–12: WC3 + WC6
2012–13: WC1 + WC9 (final)
2013–14: WC6 (final)
2014–15: WC4 + WC6

Track records

These are the current track records in Thialf.

Men
Distance Time Skater Date Duration
500 m 34.07 Japan Tatsuya Shinhama 8 March 2020 1748 days
1000 m 1:07.09 Russia Pavel Kulizhnikov 12 January 2020 1804 days
1500 m 1:43.00 Netherlands Kjeld Nuis 8 March 2020 1748 days
3000 m 3:35.26 Netherlands Patrick Roest 19 December 2020 1462 days
5000 m 6:04.36 Netherlands Patrick Roest 19 November 2022 762 days
10000 m 12:32.95 Sweden Nils van der Poel 14 February 2021 1405 days
Team sprint 1:18.31  Poland 6 January 2024 349 days
Team pursuit 3:34.22  Norway 5 January 2024 350 days
Women
Distance Time Skater Date Duration
500 m 37.02 Russia Angelina Golikova 8 March 2020 1748 days
1000 m 1:12.80 Netherlands Jutta Leerdam 28 December 2022 723 days
1500 m 1:52.95 Netherlands Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong 28 December 2022 723 days
3000 m 3:54.04 Netherlands Irene Schouten 20 November 2022 761 days
5000 m 6:41.25 Netherlands Irene Schouten 5 March 2023 656 days
10000 m 14:35.61 Netherlands Carien Kleibeuker 13 March 2018 2474 days
Team sprint 1:26.17  Russia 10 January 2020 1806 days
Team pursuit 2:54.12  Netherlands 9 January 2022 1076 days

World records

The following world records were set in Thialf.

Men
Distance Time Skater Dates
Set Broken
500 m 36.55 United States Nick Thometz 19-03-1987 14-02-1988
1000 m 1:12.58 Soviet Union Igor Zhelezovski 25-02-1989 17-12-1993
1500 m 1:52.70 Soviet Union Nikolay Gulyayev 15-02-1987 05-12-1987
1:48.88 Netherlands Rintje Ritsma 20-12-1997 12-02-1998
3000 m 3:59.27 Netherlands Leo Visser 19-03-1987 13-03-1990
3:57.52 Norway Johann Olav Koss 13-03-1990 03-04-1992
3:52.67 Netherlands Jelmer Beulenkamp 25-02-1998 21-03-1998
5000 m 6:47.01 Netherlands Leo Visser 14-02-1987 22-11-1987
6:45.44 Norway Geir Karlstad 22-11-1987 04-12-1987
6:41.73 Norway Johann Olav Koss 09-02-1991 22-01-1993
6:38.77 Norway Johann Olav Koss 22-01-1993 13-03-1993
6:36.57 Norway Johann Olav Koss 13-03-1993 04-12-1993
6:30.63 Netherlands Gianni Romme 07-12-1997 08-02-1998
10000 m 14:03.92 Norway Geir Karlstad 15-02-1987 06-12-1987
13:43.54 Norway Johann Olav Koss 10-02-1991 20-02-1994
13:03.40 Netherlands Gianni Romme 26-11-2000 20-02-2002
12:57.92 Netherlands Carl Verheijen 04-12-2005 31-12-2005
12:49.88 Netherlands Sven Kramer 11-02-2007 10-03-2007
12:32.95 Sweden Nils van der Poel 14-02-2021 11-02-2022
Women
Distance Time Skater Dates
Set Broken
500 m 39.43 United States Bonnie Blair 19-03-1987 06-12-1987
3000 m 4:16.85 Netherlands Yvonne van Gennip 19-03-1987 05-12-1987
4:07.80 Germany Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann 07-12-1997 13-12-1997
4:05.08 Germany Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann 14-03-1998 27-03-1998
5000 m 7:40.97 East Germany Andrea Schöne 23-01-1983 15-01-1984
7:20.36 Netherlands Yvonne van Gennip 20-03-1987 28-02-1988
6:55.34 Germany Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann 25-11-2000 10-03-2001

Other events

The arena has hosted concerts by many famous artists, including Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, André Rieu, TOTO, Trance Energy and Prince, among others.

Also, the national Miss Universe competition was held in Thialf several times.

See also

References

  1. ^ Thialf, Thialf. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  2. ^ "FIM Ice Speedway World Championship | FIM".
  3. ^ "Historie" (in Dutch). Thialf. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Wereldrecords". Thialf.nl. Thialf. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Second phase renovation Thialf". Zwart & Jansma Architects. 12 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Thialf's new ice rink: sustainable, fast and 'super-right'". Priva.
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