Cees Juffermans (born 10 February 1982) is a former Olympian and Dutch Short track speed skater.https://olympics.com/en/athletes/cees-juffermans However, in his recent career he is more well known as a marathon speed skater. Juffermans is one of the most renowned short track speed skaters the Netherlands has ever produced. At the 2001 European Championships, he won the silver medal and competed in the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

where he was eliminated in the series at the 500 and 1000 meters. At the 1500 meters, he would reach the semi-finals and would eventually finish in 8th place. His road to the

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

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) 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 city is main ...

was not the easiest. Juffermans was nominated by the Dutch Speed Skating Association for both the 1000 and 1500 metres and only had to show he was in form prior to the Olympics at the Speed Skating World Cup meeting in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. He was unable to do so and his 1000 meters ticket was given to Niels Kerstholt instead, who did meet the qualifications to reach the Olympics. On 20 January 2006, he eventually did qualify for the Olympics as during the 2006 European Championships he finished in 6th position at the 1500 meters, which was good enough to qualify. As the Dutch had another starting entry left which was not taken by any other skater he was also allowed to start at the 500 meters in Turin. At the 500 meters, he reached the quarter-finals, while at the 1500 meters he was eliminated in the semi-finals, although he had the final in reach. With only one lap to go Juffermans was in second position when Belgian Pieter Gysel hit him and both fell on the ice. Gysel was disqualified and as a result Juffermans would be able to ride in the final, however, after his fall, he did not pass the finish line, and was eliminated after all. After the Olympics, he would make a surprising switch by giving up on short track speed skating, and starting to participate in marathon speed skating instead.

Personal life

Born February 10, 1982 in Stompwijk, Netherlands. Currently he is in a relationship with short track speed skater, Liesbeth Mau Asam.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juffermans, Cees 1982 births Living people Dutch male short-track speed skaters Olympic short-track speed skaters for the Netherlands Short-track speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Short-track speed skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Leidschendam Speed skaters from South Holland 20th-century Dutch people 21st-century Dutch sportsmen