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Jaap Eden

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Jaap Eden
Hand-colored photographof Jaap Eden
Personal information
Birth nameJacobus Johannes Eden
Born(1873-10-19)19 October 1873
Groningen,Netherlands
Died2 February 1925(1925-02-02)(aged 51)
Haarlem,Netherlands
Spouse
Louise Elisabeth Prinsen
​
​
(m.1914)​
[1]
Sport
CountryNetherlands
SportSpeed skating
Retired1915
Medal record
RepresentingtheNetherlands
Men'sspeed skating
World Allround Championships
Gold medal – first place 1893 Amsterdam Allround
Gold medal – first place 1895 Hamar Allround
Gold medal – first place 1896 Saint Petersburg Allround
Men'sbicycle racing
Track Cycling World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1894 Antwerp 10 km
Gold medal – first place 1895 Cologne Sprint
Silver medal – second place 1894 Antwerp Sprint

Jacobus Johannes"Jaap"Eden[1][a](19 October 1873 – 2 February 1925) was a Dutch athlete. He is the only male athlete to win world championships in bothspeed skatingandbicycle racing.[2]

Early life[edit]

Jaap Eden was born inGroningento Johannes Eden and Maria Baale. Eden's mother died ofcomplications from his birth.His father, a gymnastics teacher, could not take care of the baby alone and sent him to his grandparents, who owned a hotel nearSantpoort.As a boy, Eden enjoyed running in dunes near his grandparents' home, gymnastics and, in the winter, skating. His speed and skating technique were noticed by the best Dutch skater at the time,Klaas Pander,and he invited the 15-year-old Eden to join him training.

Jaap Eden's first significant victory came in a short track race over 160m in December 1890. Thus, Eden, at age 17, was allowed by the Dutch Federation to compete in the world championships.

The championships were organized by the Skating Club ofAmsterdam,as there was no international governing body at the time. Only two foreign skaters entered, AmericanJoe Donoghuebecoming the first champion.[b]Eden skated in the shortest two of the four events, placing 3rd and 4th in the half mile and mile, respectively. Eden entered the European Championships inHamburg,but without any notable success.

Bad weather canceled the 1892 world championships; the European Championships that year were only attended byAustrianskaters. Eden instead competed in the Prince of Orange Cup in England, where he won his first international competition.

In summer 1892, skating officials from several European countries convened inScheveningen.TheInternational Skating Union(ISU) was established, and the body's constitution announced annual world championships, over 500m, 1500m, 5000m and 10000m. The first ISU-governed world championships were to take place on theMuseumpleininAmsterdam.

Eden also playedbandyon an elite level, when it had been introduced to the Netherlands in 1891.[3]

Skating successes[edit]

Two days before the championships, Eden won the 1500m and 5000m Dutch championships. His time in the 1500 m, 2:35.0 is the first ISU-recognizedworld recordin that distance. This made Eden, who trained in Norway earlier that winter, a favorite for the world championships.

In the 1500m, Eden tied withOskar Frederiksen(Norway) in the preliminaries, but beat him in a head-to-head final race. He outclassed the field in the 5000m, winning by half a minute, while his main opponent Frederiksen did not finish. Eden was challenged again by Frederiksen in the first run of the 500m on the second day, but in the final Eden again beat the Norwegian. This meant Eden's third victory, sufficient for the world title. Frederiksen skated the first official world record in the 10000m. Eden, skating alone in the last race, fell after the first lap and abandoned the race.

After his victory, Eden was welcomed by a crowd in his home townHaarlem.He became known throughout the country.

The next winter, Eden trained inHamar,Norway and traveled toStockholmfor the world championships in early February 1894. Because of bad weather, the championships were held in nearbySaltsjöbaden.The 500m, saw Eden paired with Frederiksen. The Norwegian made a false start, but was unaware of this until the finish. He was requested to re-skate immediately, but he wanted to recover. Eden, convinced Frederiksen would be disqualified, skated alone, finishing in 50.4 seconds. Frederiksen matched it in his second attempt. Jaap Eden did not want to skate a tie-breaker and Frederiksen won after drawing lots.

Eden skated a world record in 10,000m. With 19:12.4, he was half a minute ahead of the others. In the third distance, he lost toEinar Halvorsen,which meant no world champion. Eden failed to finish the final distance after a fall.

Two weeks later, the European championships took place in Hamar. Eden failed to compete on the first day, officially because of the strong wind. However, he was in his hotel with one of the chambermaids. Eden returned to the ice on the second day, and emphatically won the 5,000m in 8:37.6 — a world record by almost half a minute. The record remained for nearly 17 years, until it was broken by 0.4 seconds byNikolay Strunnikov.[c]

Jaap Eden won two world championships in cycling, one each in 1894 and 1895.

Records[edit]

Personal records[edit]

Personal records
Men'sspeed skating
Event Result Date Location Notes
500m 48.20 23 February 1895 Hamar
1,500m 2:25.4 23 February 1895 Hamar WR(1895–1898)
5,000m 8:37.6 25 February 1894 Hamar WR(1894–1911)
10,000m 17:56.0 23 February 1895 Hamar WR(1895–1900)

Source: speedskatingbase.eu[4]

World records[edit]

Discipline Time Date Location
1,500 m 2:35.0 11 January 1893 Paterswolde
10,000 m 19:12.4 10 February 1894 Neglingeviken
5,000 m 8:37.6 25 February 1894 Hamar
1,500 m 2:25.4 23 February 1895 Hamar
10,000 m 17:56.0 23 February 1895 Hamar

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[5]

Legacy[edit]

The ice skating rinksJaap Edenbaan(outdoor) andJaap Edenhal(indoor) inAmsterdamare named after Eden.[6]

Since 1972, theDutch Sportsman of the yearreceives the Jaap Eden Award. The prize for this achievement is a statue created by painter and sculptorJits Bakker(born 1937) fromBilthovenand is named after Eden.[7]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^The phraseJacobus Johannes "Jaap" Edenis pronounced[jaːˈkoːbʏʃoːˈɦɑnəˈʃaːpˈeːdə(n)].The words in isolation are pronounced[jaːˈkoːbʏs],[joːˈɦɑnəs],[ˈjaːp]and[ˈeːdə(n)].
  2. ^These world championships were later declared official by the ISU, and Donoghue is now considered to be first official speed skating world champion.
  3. ^Strunnikov's time was in an out-of-competition race, and was not officially recognized until 1967. In 1914,Oscar Mathisenwas the first to break the record according to contemporary rules.

References[edit]

  1. ^abOverdijkink, G. W. (12 November 2013)."Eden, Jacobus Johannes (1873-1925)".Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland(in Dutch).Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.Retrieved1 December2017.
  2. ^Moll, Maarten (1996).Jaap Eden, wereldkampioen op de schaats, wereldkampioen op de fiets.Amsterdam: Thomas Rap.ISBN90-6005-356-7.
  3. ^Arnout Janmaat (7 March 2013)."120 jaar bandygeschiedenis in Nederland (1891–2011)"(PDF).Retrieved2 May2014.
  4. ^"Jaap Eden".speedskatingbase.eu.Retrieved4 March2012.
  5. ^ "Jaap Eden".SpeedSkatingStats.com.Retrieved28 August2012.
  6. ^Historie(in Dutch), Jaap Eden IJsbaan. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  7. ^"Awards, Dé Jaap Eden"(in Dutch). NOC*NSF.Retrieved24 October2012.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jaap_Eden&oldid=1226622879"