Heather Bergsma

Heather Bergsma

2016 WSD Speed Skating Championships
Personal information
Birth name	Heather Richardson
Born	(1989-03-20) March 20, 1989 (age 28) High Point, North Carolina
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	149 lb (68 kg)
Spouse(s)	Jorrit Bergsma
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Speed skating
Medal record World Championships 2013 Salt Lake City Sprint 2015 Heerenveen 500 m 2017 Gangneung 1000 m 2017 Gangneung 1500 m 2015 Heerenveen 1000 m 2015 Astana Sprint 2016 Seoul Sprint 2016 Kolomna 1000 m 2016 Kolomna 1500 m 2017 Calgary Sprint 2011 Inzell 1000 m 2014 Nagano Sprint 2015 Heerenveen 1500 m 2017 Gangneung Mass start

Heather Bergsma (née Richardson; born March 20, 1989) is an American speed skater who has competed since 2006. She is a native of North Carolina. She represented the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where she finished 6th in 500 metres, 9th in the 1000 metres, and 16th in the 1500 metres. At the 2011 World Single Distance Championships in Inzell, Germany, she won a bronze medal in the 1000 metres. She also placed 8th in the 500 metres, and was part of the team pursuit team that finished in 8th place. On January 26–27, 2013, Richardson won the gold medal at the 2013 World Sprint Championships in Salt Lake City, United States. She has since won several world championship medals, and earned numerous podium placings in the World Cup.

Richardson is the current world record holder in the 2 x 500 meters and the 1500 metres, as well as the current American record holder on the 500 metres distance. She also briefly held the 1000 metres world record in November 2015, and the sprint combination world record from 2013 to 2017.

Richardson married Dutch speed skater and marathon skater Jorrit Bergsma in May 2015, and competed as Heather Richardson-Bergsma the following season.