Annie van der Steeg-Van der Meer (10 August 1928 — 30 May 2004) was a Dutch kortebaan speed skater, with her best results in the 1950s. During her career she won a total of 75 prizes. She became twice Frisian champion and won the silver medal at the national championships.

Career

She already did speed skating when she was young, but never competed in girls’ competitions. She started competing at the serious competitions. After a short while she started winning prizes. However, at a competition at

IJsbrechtum Ysbrechtum ( nl, IJsbrechtum) is a village 1 km from the city of Sneek in Friesland, Netherlands. It had a population of around 690 in January 2017. Ysbrechtum contains the , an old estate. History The village was first mentioned in the 13 ...

she crashed. She rode against a rope she didn’t saw due to the mist. She had a concussion and couldn’t compete at other races that winter. She returned on the ice in the winter of 1948-49. She became the Frisian kortebaan champion in the winter of 1950-51 in

Appingedam Appingedam (; gos, n Daam) is a city and former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. Although there is no certainty as to the exact age of Appingedam, historical research demonstrates that the place in which the city would eventually b ...

. She beat Aaltje Terpstra, a rider who won almost all competitions in Drenthe and Groningen. A special poem was dedicated to her; published in the newspaper. At the 1955 and 1956 national championships she won the silver. In the winter of 1954-55 she also started competing in long track speed skating. At the national championships in

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in th ...

she finished successfully 5th and won the silver medal in a 500 metres time of 65.5. At the 1956 Frysian championships. After her career she became a trainer at “IJsvogels” in

Surhuisterveen Surhuisterveen ( fry, Surhústerfean) is the largest of the 12 villages of the municipality of Achtkarspelen, in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. As of 1 January 2017, Surhuisterveen had a population of 5,929. General information Th ...

; also her children were skating there.

Personal

Van der Meer was born in

Wergea Wergea ( nl, Warga) is a village in Leeuwarden municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,560 in January 2017. There are two windmills in the village, De Hempenserpoldermolen and a paaltjasker. H ...

. She lived on a farm in Tjalhuizum between

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

and

Sneek Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). T ...

. Van der Meer married competitive

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

Siep van der Steeg in 1956. As present from her fellow skaters she received a tobacco jar. One of the 45 made by Tichelaar’s, chosen to be designed by kortebaan female speed skaters. The tobacco jars have since become valuable collectors' objects and museum pieces. Van der Meer later donated her piece to The Frisian Maritime Museum in

. Together with Siep she lived in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Stadsfries dialects, Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Fri ...

. Annie and Siep had three children, one son Jan en 2 daughters; Jellie and Froukje. Daughter Jellie also skated as a semi professional. Van der Meer died in

on 30 May 2004.Brouwer, J.H., en oaren (red.), '' Encyclopedie van Friesland'', Amsterdam: Elsevier 1958, ''Meer, Annie van der''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meer, Annie van der 2004 deaths 1928 births Dutch female speed skaters Sportspeople from Friesland 21st-century Dutch women 20th-century Dutch women