Sjoukje Dijkstra

Sjoukje Dijkstra
Sjoukje Dijkstra in 1960
Personal information
Full name	Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra
Alternative names	Sjoukje Kossmayer
Country represented	Netherlands
Born	(1942-01-28) 28 January 1942 (age 75) Akkrum, Netherlands
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Former coach	Arnold Gerschwiler
Former training locations	Richmond, London
Medal record Representing  Netherlands Olympic Games 1964 Innsbruck Singles 1960 Squaw Valley Singles World Championships 1964 Dortmund Singles 1963 Cortina d'Ampezzo Singles 1962 Prague Singles 1960 Vancouver Singles 1959 Colorado Springs Singles European Championships 1964 Grenoble Singles 1963 Budapest Singles 1962 Geneva Singles 1961 Berlin Singles 1960 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Singles 1959 Davos Singles

Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌʃʌukjə ˈdɛikstra], born 28 January 1942) is a Dutch former competitive figure skater. She is the 1964 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (1962–1964), five-time European champion (1960–1964), and the six-time Dutch national champion (1959–1964).

Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra was born on 28 January 1942 in Akkrum, Netherlands. She is the daughter of Lou Dijkstra, a speed skater who competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics. She married Karl Kossmayer, with whom she has two daughters, Rosalie und Katja.

In the 1953–54 season, Dijkstra was awarded her first senior national medal, bronze behind Nellie Maas and Joan Haanappel, and was assigned to her first ISU Championship, the 1954 Europeans in Bolzano, where she placed 19th. She finished 12th at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

After four seasons ranked second to Haanappel, Dijkstra defeated her for the Dutch national title in the 1958–59 season. She also stood on ISU Championship podiums for the first time, taking silver at the 1959 Europeans and bronze at the 1959 Worlds.