Johannes Nicolaas Maria ("Jeroen") Straathof (born 18 November 1972) is a retired

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...

and

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

. Straathof was the first, and still the only, athlete in the world to represent his country at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, the Winter Olympics and the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

Life

Straathof started his sports career as a speed skater, becoming World Junior Champion in Warsaw 1992. His best distance was the 1500 metres, and as the longest distances were his worst he only participated in one international all-round championship in his career. He made his Olympic debut at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

held in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

. He was qualified for the 1500 metres and placed 9th. In 1996 the World Single Distance Championships were introduced, and Straathof became the first World Champion over 1500 metres. He was never able to equal this performance or come close to winning another medal, and he made a switch to track cycling. As pilot at the tandem he teamed up with visually handicapped cyclist Jan Mulder. In 1998 they took part in the World Championships and won the silver medal. At the 1999 European Championships they won the gold, and a year later they were acclaimed

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

champions. Straathof decided to make another switch, and became part of the Dutch Team Pursuit team that qualified for the 2002 World Championships, where they placed seventh. A year later they placed 9th, and in 2004 they improved their ranking to the fourth position. The team, composed of Straathof, Jens Mouris, Peter Schep and Levi Heimans, also qualified for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

where they came in fifth. After those Olympics Straathof ended his professional sports career. Finally, Straathof is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games.

Private life

Straathof is the brother of former speed skater Judith Straathof. He is married to wheelchair basketball player

Evelyn van Leeuwen Evelyn van Leeuwen (born 15 May 1972) is a Dutch wheelchair basketball player from Leiden. She competed at four Paralympic Games between 1996 and 2016. She won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Paralympics and 20 years later the bronze medal ...

and they have four children.

Speed skating

Personal records

Tournament overview

* DNQ = Did not qualify for the last event Source:

Cycling

Results

Track cycling (pilot at the tandem), 4 km pursuit *World championships 1998: Silver medal *European championships 1999: European champion *Paralympic game Sydney 2000: Paralympic champion Track Cycling, 4 km team pursuit *World championships 2002: 7th *World championships 2003: 9th *World championships 2004: 4th *Olympic games Athene 2004: 5th

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straathof, Jeroen 1972 births Living people Speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of the Netherlands Olympic speed skaters of the Netherlands Dutch male speed skaters Dutch male cyclists Dutch track cyclists Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Paralympic cyclists of the Netherlands Paralympic gold medalists for the Netherlands People from Zoeterwoude Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Sportspeople from South Holland World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships medalists Paralympic medalists in cycling Cyclists from South Holland