Willem Frederik "Wim" Slijkhuis (13 January 1923 – 28 June 2003) was a Dutch athlete. During his career that lasted from 1939 to 1954 he was a world's top middle distance runner, excelling in distances from 1500 to 5000 metres. Slijkhuis began his international sports career shortly after

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, having competed nationally since 1939. In 1946, he won a silver medal in the 5000 m at the European Championships in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

.Wim Slijkhuis
sports-reference.com Two years later he took part in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

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, and was a favourite to win a medal. In the 5000 m he finished third, behind

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Gaston Reiff and the legendary

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final me ...

; nevertheless Slijkhuis was not satisfied. In the 1500 m, his second event, he could have done better, but started his final sprint to the finish line too late to catch the two leading Swedes, who finished narrowly ahead of him. In spite of this, realising 3:50.4 he equalled his own Dutch record, set two years earlier. Slijkhuis' achievements were overshadowed, however, by the performances of compatriot

Fanny Blankers-Koen Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen (26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earn ...

, who won four gold medals at the same Olympics. In 1950, Slijkhuis did win a major title: the 1500 m at the European championships held in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, with a time of 3:47.2. His personal best at this distance had already been improved to 3:43.8, realised one year earlier in Antwerp and only 0.8 s away from the existing

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

at the time. During his career Willem Slijkhuis didn't just run almost everywhere in Europe, but also in

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and the

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. He was the first Dutchman who competed in the US Indoor circuit and the first non-American, who ever succeeded in obtaining the US title over one mile. Owing to his stubborn behaviour Slijkhuis sometimes clashed with officials of the Dutch Athletics Federation, who he accused of outrageous interference. On the track however he impressed experts and public with his smooth, steady running style. Especially the

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were delighted about his beautiful running style, which they lyrically described as "The Poetry of motion". His second Olympic participation in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

ended without any successes. Slijkhuis, who won eleven national titles – including eight in the men's 5000 metres – on track, seven in

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and set thirty Dutch records, ended his career in 1954 due to injuries. He died on 28 June 2003 in

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References

Notes

* Weisscher, L. (1966) ''Wim Slijkhuis, een groot atleet.'' De Atletiekwereld nrs. 12 + 13: KNAU * Bijkerk, T. (2004) ''Olympisch Oranje.'' De Vrieseborch
ARRS site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slijkhuis, Willem 1923 births 2003 deaths Dutch male middle-distance runners Dutch male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Olympic athletes of the Netherlands Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Sportspeople from Leiden Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) 20th-century Dutch people 21st-century Dutch people