Jan Maarten Heideman

Who is Jan Maarten Heideman?

Jan Maarten Heideman is a Dutch speed skater who specialises in marathon speed skating.

Heideman, currently living in a small town named Gelselaar in the Achterhoek, started as an all-around speed skater, finishing in 8th position three times at the Dutch All-around Speed Skating Championships in 1994,1995 and 1996. In 1996 he won the bronze medal at the 1500 metres at the KNSB Dutch Single Distance Championships. However, at the age of six he already skated 25 kilometres in one day at the Bolksbeek.

Known as the sprinter among the marathon speed skaters he broke the record of most speed skating marathon wins on artificial tracks after he won his 48th marathon on 21 December 2003. At the end of the 2004-05 season he already expanded his new record to a total of 56 artificial track wins. He became Dutch national marathon speed skating champion three times and won the Alternative Elfstedentocht in Finland twice. In 2006 he won the Open Dutch nature track marathon speed skating Championship at the Weissensee in Austria for the third time. He is also a three-time winner of the Essent Cup and a four-time winner of the Six Days of the Greenery.