Jan Bols
Jan Bols (born 27 August 1944, Hoogeveen) is a former Dutch long track speed skater.
Bols was among the top allrounders in the late 60s and early 70s. Unfortunately for him, this period overlapped the glory days of Kees Verkerk and Ard Schenk, so that he tends to be known as merely the third best Dutch skater of his time.
Bols participated in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, but, as an allrounder rather than a distance specialist, he did not win medals. His best results were a 5th place on the 1,500m and a 4th place on the 10,000 m in 1972 in Sapporo. He also came in 4th at both the European and World allround championships in 1970.
In 1971 he actually won the Dutch championships ahead of Verkerk and Schenk. He was in excellent shape at the European Championships in Heerenveen that year and finished second at both the 500m and 5000m the first day and was first in the standing. Unfortunately, during the 5000m a failure to change lanes resulted in him skating two outer lanes in a row (i.e. he skated about 25 m longer) and a disqualification. The next day, his fans waved a commercial Bols flag half-staff in the stadium.
Bols did (bronze) medal in both the 1972 European and World allround championships. The next year, he joined most top skaters in a short-lived professional league, finishing 3rd and 2nd in their championships in 1973 and 1974.
After his career he owned a sporting goods shop in his hometown of Hoogeveen.
Medals
| Championships | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Allround | – | – | 1972 |
| European Allround | – | – | 1972 |
| Dutch Allround | 1971 | 1969 1970 1972 |
1968 |
World records
| 3,000 m | 4:16.4 | 27 January 1970 | Cortina d'Ampezzo |
| Big combination | 171.512 | 8 March 1970 | Inzell |
Personal records
To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Bols skated his personal records.
| Event | Result | Date | Venue | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 39.4 | 15 January 1972 | Davos | 38.0 |
| 1,000 m | 1:20.4 | 19 January 1971 | Davos | 1:19.2 |
| 1,500 m | 2:01.6 | 23 January 1972 | Davos | 1:58.7 |
| 3,000 m | 4:13.5 | 2 March 1972 | Inzell | 4:12.6 |
| 5,000 m | 7:10.7 | 4 March 1972 | Inzell | 7:12.0 † |
| 10,000 m | 15:10.2 | 5 March 1972 | Inzell | 14:55.9 |
| Samalog | 170.380 | 5 March 1972 | Inzell | 168.248 |
† Ard Schenk skated 7:09.8 the same day, so Bols' 7:10.7 did not become a world record.
Bols has an Adelskalender score of 168.513 points. He reached second place on this ranking list from Feb 7, 1970 to Jan 16, 1971 and would retain third place until March 1975.
References
- Personal records from Jakub Majerski's Speedskating Database
- Evert Stenlund's Adelskalender pages
- Historical World Records. International Skating Union.
- History Dutch Championships Allround. Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders Bond (Royal Dutch Skaters Association).