Maria Aaltje ("Marianne") Timmer (born 3 October 1974) is a Dutch former

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. ...

specializing in the middle distances (1000 and 1500 m). At the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

Timmer won a gold medal in both these events.

Speed skating career

In 1999 she won the 1000 m in the

World Single Distance Championships The World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating competitions organised by the International Skating Union. History Since the late 19th century, speed skating championships were always decided by racing multiple ...

and in 2004 became world champion in the sprint. In 2006, she won the 1000 m at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

. This made her the first skater from the Netherlands to win a gold medal at two different Winter Games. Timmer broke through at the Junior World Championship in 1994, winning bronze. She began to specialize in the shorter distances.

Nagano 1998

Timmer won gold in the 1000 and 1500 meter races during the

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, beating

Chris Witty Christine Diane Witty (born June 23, 1975) is an American speed skater and racing cyclist and participated in the Olympic Games in both sports. She won medals at both 1000 and 1500 meters in the 1998 Winter Olympics. In 2002, she won the Olympi ...

in the 1000m and

Gunda Niemann Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (née Kleemann, born 7 September 1966) is a German former speed skater. She is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, winning the 3000 metres in 1992 and 1998 and the 5000 metres in 1992. She won a total of eight Olympic m ...

in the 1500m.

Salt Lake City 2002

At the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Timmer finished 8th in the 500m, fourth in the 1000m, and 21st in the 1500m.

World Sprint Speed Skating Championships, Nagano 2004

On 18 January 2004, Timmer became the first Dutch woman to win a World Sprint Speed Skating Championship. Though she did not win any individual distances (she got three third and one fourth place), the was the most consistent athlete and won the overall championship.

Turin 2006

At the Dutch championships, Timmer qualified for the 500m and 1000m events at the

. She was disqualified after a false start in the 500m race, but a week later she surprisingly won gold in the 1000m, beating out favorites Cindy Klassen and Anni Friesinger by a very slim margin. This result qualified her for the 1500m, where she finished 14th.

2008/2009 season

In January 2008, Timmer announced she wished to extend her contract with sponsor

DSB Bank DSB Bank (''DSB: Dirk Scheringa Beheer'') was a Dutch bank and insurer that failed in 2009. Its loans were managed under ''Quion'' from June 2013 until June 2016 when ''Finqus'' began operating as the former DSB Bank. In 2018 ''Finqus BV'' took ov ...

, until the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

in Vancouver, and at the end of February 2008 the contract was signed.

2009/2010 season

On 13 November 2009, Timmer broke her heel on the 500m, during a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

event in

Thialf Thialf is an ice arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Thialf consists of the Thialf-hal (a 12,500-capacity speed skating venue) and the Elfstedenhal (a 2,500-capacity ice hockey venue). Thialf is used for long track speed skating, short track spee ...

. She failed to qualify for the Winter Games in Vancouver

2010/2011 season

At the 2011 Dutch Single Distance Championships in Thialf, Timmer got the third-fastest time on the first 500m, but ran into Marrit Leenstra on the second 500m, and fell. The next day, on the 1000m, she did not get farther than tenth place. Because of her first 500m result, she did qualify for the 2010–11 ISU Speed Skating World Cup. She published a biography in 2010, written by ''

Telegraaf ''De Telegraaf'' (; en, The Telegraph) is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper. Haro Kraak,Gaat Paul Jansen de crisis bij De Telegraaf oplossen?, '' de Volkskrant'', 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015. Paul Jansen has been the editor-in-chief s ...

'' journalist Frank Woestenburg. She withdrew from the Dutch Sprint Championship on 27 December 2010 after a disappointing 500m on the first day. In May 2010 Timmer, Annette Gerritsen, and Margot Boer left the Control team to start their own team, sponsored by Liga, a company manufacturing biscuits and crackers. She stopped skating on 28 December 2010, though she said she would remain involved with Team Liga. Her official goodbye took place during the Tijdens het 2011 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen, on 22 January 2011. On that occasion she was named an honorary member of the KNSB.

Records

Personal records

World records

Tournament summary

Personal life

Timmer was born in

Sappemeer Sappemeer () is a town in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Midden-Groningen to the east of Hoogezand. Sappemeer was a separate municipality until 1949, when it merged with Hoogezand. The village is the Europea ...

. She was previously married to her former coach Peter Mueller. They were married in Las Vegas in 2001, after which he added her to Spaar Select, his skating team, against the wishes of the other skaters, in what a reviewer of his autobiography called a "dominating and intimidating" way. Timmer and Mueller broke up in 2003, and Mueller avenged himself on Timmer in his autobiography. She is married to ex-goalkeeper

Henk Timmer Hendrik Timmer (born 3 December 1971) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Timmer was born in Hierden, Harderwijk, Gelderland. He spent his first 11 senior seasons in the second division, with FC Zw ...

. After a fifteen-year relationship and seven years of marriage, the couple split up in 2019.

References

External links

Marianne Timmer at SkateResults.com

Photos of Marianne Timmer

Olympic Medal Winners

Profile page of Marianne Timmer on Teamliga.nl
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Timmer, Marianne 1974 births Dutch female speed skaters Speed skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic speed skaters of the Netherlands Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in speed skating Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands World record setters in speed skating People from Hoogezand-Sappemeer Living people World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships medalists Dutch speed skating coaches Dutch sports coaches 20th-century Dutch women 21st-century Dutch women Sportspeople from Groningen (province)