During the late sixties, "The Golden Years of Speed Skating", new records were set at an incredible pace, and speed skating became more popular than ever, especially in the Netherlands. The reasons for this were many, and the direct TV-coverage of several world championships surely contributed. The main reason, however, was the skaters themselves. Sovjet speed skating was on the decline, although Eduard Matusevitsj still was doing fine, but the Scandinavians and the Dutch were skating like never before. Norway had skaters like Dag Fornæs, Fred Anton Maier, Magne Thomassen, Per Willy Guttormsen and Svein-Erik Stianssen, just to mention a few, Sweden had Göran Claeson, Johnny Höglin and Örjan Sandler and the Dutch had Kees Verkerk, Ard Schenk and Jan Bols. Kees Verkerk became world champion in 1966 and 1967 and european champion in 1967. He also took a gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games. In 1973 he started, together with Ard Schenk and a dozen other skaters, a professional career. He later became coach for the Swedish national team. Personal Records: 39.9 Davos 15 January 1971 1.21.4 Davos 19 January 1971 1.58.9 Davos 16 January 1971 4.14.9 Inzell 2 March 1972 7.13.2 Inzell 1 March 1969 15.03.6 Inzell 26 January 1969 World Records: 178.058 Oslo 11/12 February 1967 (Big Comb.) 2.03.9 Inzell 26 February 1967 7.26.6 Inzell 26 February 1967 172.058 Inzell 9/10 March 1968 (Big Comb.) 15.03.6 Inzell 26 January 1969 2.02.0 Inzell 9 February 1969 7.13.2 Inzell 1 March 1969 2.01.9 Inzell 8 March 1970 #1 in Adelskalendern: 28 February 1967 - 4 February 1968 7 February 1968 - 12 February 1971 From: Heroes of the Speed Skating History by Evert Stenlund