Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra (; 28 January 1942 – 2 May 2024) was a Dutch competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. She was the 1964 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time

World champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

(1962–1964), five-time European champion (1960–1964), and the six-time Dutch national champion (1959–1964). She was the first Dutch athlete to win a Winter Olympics gold medal.

Personal life

Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra was born on 28 January 1942 in Akkrum, Netherlands. She was the daughter of Lou Dijkstra, a speed skater who competed in the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

. She married Karl Kossmayer, with whom she has two daughters, Rosalie and Katja. Dijkstra died on 2 May 2024, at the age of 82.

Career

During the 1953–54 season, Dijkstra was awarded her first senior national medal, bronze behind Nellie Maas and Joan Haanappel, and was assigned to her first ISU Championship, the 1954 Europeans in

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

, where she placed 19th. She finished 12th at the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which ...

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

, Italy. After four seasons ranked second to Haanappel, Dijkstra defeated her for the Dutch national title in the 1958–59 season. She also stood on ISU Championship podiums for the first time, taking silver at the 1959 Europeans and bronze at the 1959 Worlds. Dijkstra won silver behind

Carol Heiss Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the Figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics – Women's singles, 1960 Olympic champion, the Figure ...

at the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...

in Squaw Valley, California and at the 1960 World Championships in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. She became the dominant ladies' single skater after Heiss retired from competition. Dijkstra won all the World and European Championships held between 1961 and 1964 (except the 1961 World Championships, which were cancelled following the Sabena Flight 548 crash). After taking her sixth consecutive national title, she went on to win gold at the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, Austria. It was the first gold for the Netherlands at the Winter Olympics. She is the last person to have won Olympic gold in ladies' figure skating after winning a silver or bronze medal at a prior Olympics. During her competitive career, Dijkstra was coached by

Arnold Gerschwiler Arnold Gerschwiler OBE (28 May 1914 – 22 August 2003) was a Swiss (later, British) figure skating coach. Personal life Gerschwiler was born in Arbon, Switzerland. He was the half-brother of Jacques Gerschwiler and the uncle of Hans Gersch ...

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

. While her main strength was

compulsory figures Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...

, she was also a very powerful and athletic free skater who could perform high-quality double

Axel jump The Axel jump or Axel Paulsen jump, named after its inventor, Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen, is an edge jump performed in figure skating. It is the sport's oldest and most difficult jump, and the only basic jump in competition with a for ...

s and flying spins, and who skated with easy movement and strong flow. At 1.68 metres, she was fairly tall for a skater, and one magazine article noted that "she is much more slender in person than she appears on the ice". After 1964, Dijkstra turned professional and toured with Holiday On Ice from 1964 to 1972. She became the advisor to the figure skating section of the Dutch Skating Federation in 1985. In 2005, she was awarded the

Fanny Blankers-Koen Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen (; 26 April 191825 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, earning ...

Trophy for her contributions to Dutch sports. On 9 January 2014, she was inducted into the International Figure Skating Hall of Fame at a ceremony during the 2014 U.S. Championships in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Dijkstra appeared as herself on 13 September 1965 episode of ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'', receiving three of the four possible votes. Eiskunstlauf-Weltmeisterschaft 1964 916-1135

Results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dijkstra, Sjoukje 1942 births 2024 deaths Dutch female single skaters Figure skaters at the 1956 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1964 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for the Netherlands Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands People from Boarnsterhim Sportspeople from Friesland Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics 20th-century Dutch sportswomen