Hein Vergeer

Who is Hein Vergeer?

Henricus Coenradus Nicolaas "Hein" Vergeer is a Dutch former speed skater who became both European and World Allround Champion in both 1985 and 1986.

Hein Vergeer was a dominant allround skater, but after having recovered from an injury, he was never able to reach that same level again. Because of this, he was unable to fulfil his wish of winning an Olympic medal – at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Vergeer competed in the 500 m, the 1,000 m, and the 1,500 m, but his best result was a mere fifteenth place. He had also competed in those same three distances at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo four years earlier, but did not do much better than with a tenth place as his best result. Unfortunately for Vergeer, his best years were in between those two Winter Olympics.

Despite his dominance, Vergeer never managed to skate any world records. This could label him as a "true" allround skater – very good at all distances, but never the very best in any single distance.

Vergeer lives in Haastrecht, a town where Leo Visser, another former World Champion speed skating, also used to live. Both skaters used to train at the skating club STV Lekstreek.