Ard Schenk

Ard Schenk

Ard Schenk in 2006
Personal information
Nationality	Dutch
Born	(1944-09-16) 16 September 1944 (age 72) Anna Paulowna, Netherlands
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	90 kg (198 lb)
Sport
Country	Netherlands
Sport	Speed skating
Turned pro	1973
Retired	1974
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	500 m: 39.8 (1971) 1000 m: 1:20.6 (1968) 1500 m: 2:05.3 (1966) 3000 m: 4:08.3 (1972) 5000 m: 7:09.8 (1972) 10 000 m: 14:55.9 (1971)
Medal record Men's speed skating Representing the  Netherlands Olympic Games 1972 Sapporo 1500 m 1972 Sapporo 5000 m 1972 Sapporo 10000 m 1968 Grenoble 1500 m World Championships 1970 Oslo Allround 1971 Gothenburg Allround 1972 Oslo Allround 1966 Gothenburg Allround 1967 Oslo Allround 1965 Oslo Allround 1968 Gothenburg Allround 1971 Inzell Sprint 1972 Eskilstuna Sprint European Championships 1966 Deventer Allround 1970 Innsbruck Allround 1972 Davos Allround 1971 Heerenveen Allround

Adrianus "Ard" Schenk (born 16 September 1944) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands, who is considered to be one of the best in history. His first Olympic success came in 1968, when he won a silver medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics. Between 1970 and 1972 Winter Olympics, Schenk won three consecutive World Allround Speed Skating Championships. He won three gold medals at the 1972 Winter Olympics, becoming, along with Galina Kulakova of Soviet Union, the most successful athlete there.

Schenk competed in international meets from 1964 on, winning his first medal at the 1965 world championships and his first gold medal at the 1966 European championships. In the late 60s, Schenk was usually bested by his compatriot Kees Verkerk, but in the early 1970s he dominated international speed skating. The winning duo of Ard & Keesie were responsible for a lasting popularity of speed skating in the Netherlands.

Schenk's career peaked in 1972. He won three gold medals during the Olympic Games in Sapporo (a fall on the 500 m precluded gold in all 4 distances). Would the 1000 meters already have been an Olympic distance already, Schenk would have been the favorite for gold, as he had won five of the six 1000 meter races at World Sprint Championship he participated in. The same year, he also won the European Allround and the World Allround Championships. He became World Allround Champion by winning all 4 distances, a feat that nobody had performed since Ivar Ballangrud 40 years earlier, and which only Eric Heiden has repeated since (in 1979). Finally, he won bronze that year at the World Sprint Championships.

The next season (1973), he turned professional with a number of other prominent speed skaters, thereby foregoing the opportunity of winning more championships. The professional circuit lasted two seasons and Schenk retired from speed skating at the relatively young age of 30.