Thialf
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| Location | Pim Mulierlaan 1[1] Heerenveen, Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Owner | Essent, Aegon, and the city of Heerenveen |
| Capacity | 12,500 seats |
| Surface | 15,000 m2 (Hal 1) 1800 m2 (Hal 2) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1966 |
| Opened | 14 October 1967 (outdoor) 17 November 1986 (indoor) |
| Renovated | 2001, 2004, 2015–16 |
| Architect | Alynia 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
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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
[edit | edit source]Events
[edit | edit source]- 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
[edit | edit source]These are the current track records in Thialf.
| Men | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Time | Skater | Date | Duration |
| 500 m | 33.90 | United States Jordan Stolz | 7 December 2025 | 167 days |
| 1000 m | 1:06.38 | United States Jordan Stolz | 6 December 2025 | 168 days |
| 1500 m | 1:42.55 | United States Jordan Stolz | 5 December 2025 | 169 days |
| 3000 m | 3:34.09 | Czech Republic Metoděj Jílek | 16 September 2025 | 249 days |
| 5000 m | 6:04.36 | Netherlands Patrick Roest | 19 November 2022 | 1281 days |
| 10000 m | 12:29.63 | Czech Republic Metoděj Jílek | 6 December 2025 | 168 days |
| Team sprint | 1:18.31 | File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland | 6 January 2024 | 868 days |
| Team pursuit | 3:34.22 | File:Flag of Norway.svg Norway | 5 January 2024 | 869 days |
| Women | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Time | Skater | Date | Duration |
| 500 m | 36.97 | Netherlands Femke Kok | 15 February 2025 | 462 days |
| 1000 m | 1:12.80 | Netherlands Jutta Leerdam | 28 December 2022 | 1242 days |
| 1500 m | 1:52.69 | Netherlands Femke Kok | 4 October 2025 | 231 days |
| 3000 m | 3:54.04 | Netherlands Irene Schouten | 20 November 2022 | 1280 days |
| 5000 m | 6:41.25 | Netherlands Irene Schouten | 5 March 2023 | 1175 days |
| 10000 m | 14:35.61 | Netherlands Carien Kleibeuker | 13 March 2018 | 2993 days |
| Team sprint | 1:26.17 | File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia | 10 January 2020 | 2325 days |
| Team pursuit | 2:54.12 | File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands | 9 January 2022 | 1595 days |
World records
[edit | edit source]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 |  Igor Zhelezovski
|
25-02-1989 | 17-12-1993 |
| 1500 m | 1:52.70 | 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
[edit | edit source]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.
As of April 2025, it was considered whether to host the 2030 Winter Olympics long-track speed skating events in Thialf.[7][8][9] If this was to become the case, it would be the first Olympic events held in The Netherlands in 102 years.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Thialf, Thialf. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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External links
[edit | edit source]
- Lua error in Module:Official_website at line 94: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Track records