Thialf

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Thialf (disambiguation) .

IJsstadion Thialf Heerenveen

Data
place	Pim Mulierlaan 1 8443 Heerenveen , Friesland , The Netherlands
Coordinates	52 ° 56 ′ 19 ″  N , 5 ° 56 ′ 31 ″  E Coordinates: 52 ° 56 ′ 19 ″  N , 5 ° 56 ′ 31 ″  E
opening	17th November 1987
capacity	12500
Extensions	333 m inner lane, a 60 × 30 m ice hockey field , a 30 × 30 m ice rink and a 60 × 30 m curling field
Website	www.thialf.nl
special
construction	Hall (tempered)
surface	Artificial ice
Track length	400 meters
Altitude	0.4 meters
Curve radii	25/29 meters
Total points	371.084 points
Societies)
Heerenveen Flyers (irregularly since 1967)
Events
European and world speed skating championships, world cups

inside view

The Thialf is an ice rink in Heerenveen that opened as an open-air arena in 1967. The stadium was named after Thialfi , a servant of the god Thor in Norse mythology. In 1986 the ice rink was roofed over and since then there has been space for 12,500 spectators in Thialf.

It was the third artificial ice rink in the Netherlands , alongside the Jaap Edenbaan ice rinks in Amsterdam and De Scheg in Deventer . The opening was one year after that of the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen , which became the first speed skating arena in the world. The conditions in the Thialf are, at least as far as the times run, better. Despite its altitude at sea level (flat land railway), the Thialf ranks fourth on the list of the fastest speed skating rinks in the world .

The arena is mainly used for speed skating competitions . Thanks to the good air-conditioning conditions inside the hall, the arena has long been considered the fastest ice in the world , which is also reflected in the numerous world records that were set in the Thialf after its opening. It was only with the construction of new ice rinks in Calgary and Salt Lake City in 1988 that the stadium lost this status, as the higher-lying arenas in North America have lower air pressure and thus even better competition conditions can be found.

With the exception of the first World Cup season 1985/86 , Heerenveen hosted a World Cup at least once a year. The Thialf will have held 42 World Cups by the end of the 2014 season. The Sportforum Hohenschönhausen, which comes in second place , “only” has 23 events.

The Dutch Eredivisie team Heerenveen Flyers plays important games on the ice hockey rink inside the stadium , but usually competes in the complex's side hall, the Thialf IJsstadion .

In addition to the 400-meter track, the hall has four other ice surfaces inside that can be reached via a tunnel. These are a 333-meter small track, an ice hockey rink with 30 × 60 meters, a 30 × 30 meter ice rink for beginners and an area of ​​60 × 30 meters set up for curling .

Nieuw Thialf

Nieuw Thialf (renovation planning)

New Thialf (2019)

For several years now, the Thialf has faced competition from new, faster ice rinks. The halls in Kolomna ( Kometa ) and Inzell ( Max Aicher Arena ), equipped with the latest technology, scratch the influence of the Thialf in Europe. The considerations were whether the hall should be modernized or a new hall should be built as part of a sports park. In March 2011 a working group of the KNSB decided that the hall should be rebuilt.

The Nieuw Thialf is to be built around three kilometers north of the Thialf at the Abe Lenstra Stadium . The cost of the project is estimated at 100 million euros. 58.5 million for the construction and installation of the hall, 12 million for an adjacent ice hockey rink, 14.5 million for infrastructure and 15 million for further planning.

Events

Panoramic view of the interior

Individual distance world championships	1999 , 2012 , 2015
All around world championship	1972 , 1974 , 1976 , 1977 , 1980 , 1987 , 1991 , 1992 , 1998 , 2002 , 2007 , 2010
Sprint World Championship	1985 , 1989 , 1996 , 2006 , 2008 , 2011
All-around European Championship	1970 , 1971 , 1975 , 1981 , 1982 , 1983 , 1990 , 1992 , 1993 , 1995 , 1996 , 1997 , 1999 , 2003 , 2004 , 2005 , 2009 , 2013
World cup	1986/87 , 1987/88 , 1988/89 , 1989/90 , 1990/91 , 1991/92 , 1992/93 , 1993/94 , 1994/95 , 1995/96 , 1996/97 , 1997/98 , 1998 / 99 , 1999/2000 , 2000/01 , 2001/02 , 2002/03 , 2003/04 , 2004/05 , 2005/06 , 2006/07 , 2007/08 , 2008/09 , 2009/10 , 2010/11 , 2011/12 , 2012/13 , 2013/14 , 2014/15 , 2015/16
Short track	Team World Championships 2009 , European Championships 2011
Concerts	André Rieu , Gloria Estefan , Prince , Thunderdome , Tina Turner , TOTO , Trance Energy , UB40 , Whitney Houston
Other Events	Choice of Miss Universe

Track records

The Thialf is one of the fastest speed skating rinks in the world.

Women

Ireen Wüst , February 9, 2007

route	athlete	time	date	competition
00100 m	Jenny Wolf	00 10.33	January 27, 2007	World Cup 2006/07
00500 m	Lee Sang-Hwa	00 37.59	December 11, 2015	World Cup 2015/16
01000 m	Brittany Bowe	01.13.90	February 13, 2015	Individual distance world championship 2015
01500 m	Ireen Wüst	01.53.31	December 29, 2013	Olympic qualification
03000 m	Ireen Wüst	03.58.68	March 9, 2013	World Cup 2012/13
05000 m	Martina Sáblíková	06.49.31	February 11, 2007	All-around World Cup 2007
10,000 m	Carien Kleibeuker	14.39.76	March 23, 2006	Wageningen Prize 2006
60 min	Maria Sterk	36441.26 m ( WB )	March 29, 2005	?
Team run (6 laps)	Japan Ayaka Kikuchi , Nana Takagi , Miho Takagi	02.59.58	December 12, 2015	World Cup 2015/16
All-around	athlete	Points	date	competition
2 × 500 m	Jenny Wolf	075.240	January 19-20, 2008	Sprint World Championship 2008
Sprint MK	Christine Nesbitt	152.220	January 22-23, 2011	Sprint World Championships 2011
Mini MK	Ireen Wüst	157.721	November 11-12, 2006	World Cup 2006/07
Small MK	Ireen Wüst	158.615	March 22-23, 2014	All-around World Cup 2014
Big MK	Willemiek Kamper	184.157	March 22-23, 2007	Wageningen Prize 2007

Not or no longer held in international competition.

• As of December 13, 2015
• Sum of the individual distances broken down to 500 m (500, 1000, 1500, 3000, 5000 meters): 193.021 points
• WB - world best

Men

Sven Kramer , December 8, 2007

route	athlete	time	date	competition
00100 m	Fengtong Yu	000 9.52	February 18, 2005	World Cup 2004/05
00500 m	Michel Mulder	00 34.31	December 27, 2013	Olympic qualification
01000 m	Pavel Kulischnikow	01.08.16	December 12, 2015	World Cup 2015/16
01500 m	Denis Yuskov	01.43.36	February 13, 2015	Individual distance world championship 2015
03000 m	Sven Kramer	03.39.65	October 25, 2014
05000 m	Sven Kramer	06.09.65	February 14, 2015	Individual distance world championship 2015
10,000 m	Sven Kramer	12.45.09	December 28, 2013	Olympic qualification
60 min	Robert Vunderink	39986.59 m	November 28, 1988	?
Team run (8 laps)	Netherlands Jan Blokhuijsen , Koen Verweij , Sven Kramer	03.39.76	17th November 2012	World Cup 2012/13
All-around	athlete	Points	date	competition
2 × 500 m	Pavel Kulischnikow	068.920	February 15, 2015	Individual distance world championship 2015
Sprint MK	Pavel Kulischnikow	138.445	February 7-8, 2015	World Cup 2014/15
Mini MK	Koen Verweij	148.163	March 7-8, 2008	Viking Race 2008
Small MK	KC Boutiette	151.221	November 21-23, 2003	World Cup 2003/04
Big MK	Sven Kramer	147.934	February 9-11, 2007	All-around World Cup 2007

Not or no longer held in international competition.

• As of December 13, 2015
• Total of the individual distances broken down to 500 m (500, 1000, 1500, 5000, 10000 meters): 178.063 points

Established world records

• List of the latest five world records in speed skating set in the Thialf Hall .

No.	discipline	Time / points	athlete	date
36	10,000 meters	12.49.88	Sven Kramer	February 11, 2007
35	10,000 meters	12.57.92	Carl Verheijen	4th December 2005
	60 min	36441.26 m	Maria Sterk	March 29, 2005
34	Big MK	151.691	Mark Tuitert	January 9-11, 2004
33	Big MK	152,482	Jochem Uytdehaage	March 15-17, 2002
List of all established world records

Unofficial best.

Old Thialf Stadium

Buitenbaan Thialf

Ina Steenbruggen , EM all-around competition January 23, 1983
Data
Template: Coordinate / Maintenance / Stadium
start of building	1966
opening	October 14, 1967
demolition	1986
special
construction	Open-air track
surface	Artificial ice
Total points	417,847 points

The construction of the third artificial ice rink in the Netherlands began in 1966. Princess Maria Christina of the Netherlands inaugurated the railway on October 14, 1967. In the 1982/83 winter season, the East German Andrea Schöne-Mitscherlich ran a world record of 740.97 over 5000 meters at the European all - around championship . In the all-around competition she took first place and became European champion . With 177.669 points, this was also the first official ranking as a world record in the small all-around competition .

Women's track records

Andrea Schöne-Mitscherlich , 1985

route	athlete	time	date	competition
0500 m	Natalia Petrusjowa	0 41.24	January 23, 1982	All-around European Championship 1982
1000 m	Christa Rothenburger	1.22.74	February 23, 1985	Sprint World Championship 1985
1500 m	Karin Enke	2.08.58	January 24, 1983	All-around European Championship 1983
3000 m	Andrea Schöne-Mitscherlich	4.28.18	January 23, 1983	All-around European Championship 1983
5000 m	Andrea Schöne-Mitscherlich	7.40.97	January 24, 1983	All-around European Championship 1983
All-around	athlete	Points	date	competition
Sprint MK	Angela Stahnke	167.315	February 23-24, 1985	Sprint World Championship 1985
Mini MK	Natalia Petrusjowa	173.386	January 23-24, 1982	All-around European Championship 1982
Small MK	Andrea Schöne-Mitscherlich	177.669	January 23-24, 1983	All-around European Championship 1983

Not or no longer held in international competition.

• As of September 18, 2013
• Sum of the individual distances broken down to 500 m (500, 1000, 1500, 3000, 5000 meters): 216.263 points

Men's track records

Igor Schelesowski , 1985

route	athlete	time	date	competition
00500 m	Igor Shelesovsky	00 37.91	February 23, 1985	Sprint World Championship 1985
0 1000 m	Igor Shelesovsky	01.14.30	February 23, 1985	Sprint World Championship 1985
01500 m	Hilbert van der Duim	01.58.50	November 15, 1982	?
03000 m	Tomas Gustafson	04.09.77	17th December 1983	Country Match 1984
05000 m	Hans van Helden	06/7/40	February 12, 1977	All-around World Cup 1987
10,000 m	Hilbert van der Duim	14.47.69	January 9, 1982	Dutch championships 1982
60 min	Hilbert van der Duim	39492.80 m	November 28, 1986	?
All-around	athlete	Points	date	competition
Sprint MK	Igor Shelesovsky	150.825	February 23-24, 1985	Sprint World Championship 1985
Small MK	Rolf Falk-Larssen	164.709	December 17-18, 1983	Country Match 1984
Big MK	Hilbert van der Duim	167.624	January 9-10, 1982	Dutch championships 1982

Not or no longer held in international competition.

• As of September 18, 2013
• Sum of the individual distances broken down to 500 m (500, 1000, 1500, 5000, 10000 meters): 201.584 points

Web links

Commons : Thialf  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• official homepage
• The Thialf on speedskatingnews.info
• The old Thialf on speedskatingnews.info

Individual evidence

1. ↑ isu.sportcentric.net ( Memento of the original from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Communication No. 1807 (July 29, 2013) 
2. ↑ Most World Cup by ice rinks on www.speedskatingstats.com
3. ^ Hockeyarenas.net, Ice Hockey History of Thialf
4. ↑ Heerenveen kiest voor nieuw thialf on nos.nl
5. ↑ Official homepage of the planned hall at www.nieuwthialf.nl
6. ↑ 090311_brochure_thialf.pdf  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.npo.nl  
7. ^ Evolution of the world hour record Women on www.speedskatingstats.com
8. ↑ ^{a b} speedskatingnews.info the Thialf Hall
9. ^ ^{A b} Evolution of the world Hour Record Men on www.speedskatingstats.com
10. ↑ ^{a b} speedskatingnews.info the old Thialf Stadium