Niels Kerstholt (born April 2, 1983 in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

) is a retired dutch

Short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...

. Kerstholt qualified himself for 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 t ...

by finishing among the first twelve in a virtual ranking over 1000 metres using the results of the

Speed Skating World Cup The ISU Speed Skating World Cup is a series of international speed skating competitions, organised annually by the International Skating Union since the winter of 1985–86. Every year during the winter season, a number of competitions on different ...

meetings in

Bormio Bormio ( lmo, Bormi, rm, italic=yes, , german: Worms im Veltlintal) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. The centre of the upper Valtellina ...

and

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in November 2005. This way he met the requirements set by the Dutch Olympic Committee and was his ticket to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, 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 ...

reserved. As the Dutch also had a starting entry left at the 1500 metres which was not taken by any other skater Kerstholt also participated at this distance during the Olympics. At the distance where he qualified himself, the 1000 metres, he was eliminated in the series. However, at the 1500 metres he reached the semi finals and started in the B-final as a result. Here he became fifth out of six skaters, which meant he finished in 11th position in the end. A few weeks after the Olympics Kerstholt became Dutch National Champion for the first time in his career. A year later he would successfully defend his title. He also broke the Dutch National Record over 1500 metres held by Robbert-Kees Boer with more than two seconds from 2:16.881 to a new best time of 2:14.885.

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* 1983 births Living people Dutch male short track speed skaters Olympic short track speed skaters of the Netherlands Short track speed skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Utrecht (city) 21st-century Dutch people {{Netherlands-speed-skating-bio-stub