Wouter Olde Heuvel (born August 18, 1986 in Losser ) is a former Dutch speed skater . His greatest successes include two world championships in the team pursuit and two bronze medals at world and European championships. He is the brother of the speed skater Remco Olde Heuvel .
After Olde Heuvel became Junior World Champion in the team run in 2005 in Seinäjoki and 2006 in Erfurt and won silver in each of the small four-way competitions (2005 behind Sven Kramer and 2006 behind Håvard Bøkko ), he achieved his greatest successes between 2007 and 2011. After he finished 15th at the all-around world championships in Calgary in 2006, he finished seventh in 2007 in Heerenveen . In February 2007 he won his first World Cup race with the team in Erfurt in what was only his second World Cup appearance. At the speed skating all-around world championship in Berlin in 2008 , he was fifth. In the same year he won the bronze medal over the 5,000 meters at the speed skating individual distance world championships in Nagano in 2008 , before winning gold in the team classification together with Sven Kramer and Erben Wennemars . It was their first world title, which the trio defended the following year. At the speed skating all-around world championship in Hamar in 2009 , he just missed a medal in fourth place, but was able to win it with bronze in the overall standings at the all- around European championship in Heerenveen. The all-around world championships took place in the same place a year later, and Olde Heuvel finished in seventh place. At the last all around world championship in 2011 in Calgary he was eighth. In 2010 and 2011 Olde Heuvel also won the Dutch championship title in the all-around competition after his teammate Sven Kramer did not take part in the championships in both years.
As a result, Olde Heuvel had to undergo two knee operations and, after long rehabilitation measures, did not return to anything close to his old level of performance until the 2014/15 season. In 2015 he finished second at the Dutch Championships. After injuring himself again in the 2015/16 season and due to a cyst in his hip, Wouter Olde Heuvel announced his retirement in March 2016.
After the end of his active time, Olde Heuvel moved to the coaching staff of the Dutch national team, which he looked after together with Peter Kolder . After he suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage on a bike trip with the team in 2018 and had to undergo multiple operations, he withdrew completely from speed skating for the time being.
.jpg)
Netherlands
