Thialf

This article is about the sports arena. For the crane vessel, see SSCV Thialf.

Thialf (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtijɑlf]) is an ice arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Thialf is used for long track speed skating, short track speed skating, ice hockey, figure skating, ice speedway,^[2] and non-sporting events. The outdoor rink was opened in 1967, and the indoor stadium was opened in 1986. Several world records have been set in the indoor stadium.^{[citation needed]}

Thialf

Location	Pim Mulierlaan 1[1] Heerenveen, Netherlands
Coordinates	52.9386°N 5.94201°E / 52.9386; 5.94201
Owner	Essent, Aegon, and the city of Heerenveen
Capacity	12,500 seats
Surface	15,000 m2 (Hal 1) 1800 m2 (Hal 2)
Construction
Broke ground	1966
Opened	14 October 1967 (outdoor) 17 November 1986 (indoor)
Renovated	2001, 2004, 2015–16
Architect	Alynia Architecten Harlingen bv
Tenants
UNIS Flyers (Ice hockey venue)

Annually, Thialf hosts two Speed Skating World Cup events. Jan de Jong was the ice rink master at Thialf for many years.

History

Ice skaters and their coaches during the World Cup in the season 2007–2008

Main entrance after renovation

Thialf is named after Thialfi, a character in Norse mythology, who was Thor's servant and had to race a giant.^[3]

Construction on the artificial outdoor ice rink was started in 1966, and it was opened on 14 October 1967 by Princess Christina of the Netherlands. It was the third 400m artificial ice rink in the Netherlands, after the Jaap Eden baan in Amsterdam and the IJsselstadion in Deventer. Several national and international tournaments have been held in Thialf, but only one world record has been set on the outdoor rink, by Andrea Schöne on the 5000 m in 1983.

The roofed stadium, which seats 12,500 people, opened on 17 November 1986, about a year after Sportforum Hohenschönhausen in Berlin, which was the first 400m indoor speed skating oval in the world. Thanks to the indoor conditions, allowing climate control, almost all world speed skating records were broken at Thialf in the first season.^[4] Since 1988 it has been overtaken as the "fastest ice in the world" by the high-altitude indoor rinks in Calgary and Salt Lake City, which have the additional benefit of low air pressure.

Every year there are main skating events like the Dutch, European and World championships, and one or two Speed Skating World Cup events in Thialf.

The 2500-seat ice hockey arena adjacent to the speed skating oval is the home arena of the Heerenveen Flyers, one of the Netherlands' most successful ice hockey clubs. It is also the main arena used in the Netherlands for international ice hockey tournaments, hosting the IIHF World U18 Championships (Division II, Group A) in late March 2012.

The stadium was renovated in 2016.^[5][6]

Long track speed skating

Events

Dutch championships

Discipline	in:
Allround	1968*, 1969, 1973, 1979, 1982, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Sprint	1969*, 1973*, 1979*, 1982*, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2012
Single Distance	1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

* Dutch allround 1968: only for women.

* Dutch sprint: 1969, 1973, 1979, 1982: only for men.

European championships

Discipline	in:
Allround	Men: 1971, 1975 Women: 1970, 1981, 1982, 1983 M+W: 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013

World championships

Discipline	in:
Allround	Men: 1976, 1977, 1980, 1987, 1991 Women: 1972, 1974, 1992 M+W: 1998, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2014,
Sprint	1985, 1989, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2011
Single Distance	1999, 2012, 2015

World Cup

Discipline	in:
World Cup	2006–07: WC1 + WC6 2007–08: WC4 + WC9 2008–09: WC2 + WC8 2009–10: WC2 + WC7 2010–11: WC1 + WC8 (final) 2011–12: WC3 + WC6 2012–13: WC1 + WC9 (final) 2013–14: WC6 (final) 2014–15: WC4 + WC6

Track records

These are the current track records in Thialf.

Men
Distance	Time	Skater	Date	Duration
500 m	34.05	Jenning de Boo	14 February 2025	88 days
1000 m	1:07.08	Jenning de Boo	16 February 2025	87 days
1500 m	1:43.00	Kjeld Nuis	8 March 2020	1893 days
3000 m	3:35.26	Patrick Roest	19 December 2020	1607 days
5000 m	6:04.36	Patrick Roest	19 November 2022	907 days
10000 m	12:32.95	Nils van der Poel	14 February 2021	1550 days
Team sprint	1:18.31	Poland	6 January 2024	494 days
Team pursuit	3:34.22	Norway	5 January 2024	495 days

Women
Distance	Time	Skater	Date	Duration
500 m	36.97	Femke Kok	15 February 2025	88 days
1000 m	1:12.80	Jutta Leerdam	28 December 2022	868 days
1500 m	1:52.95	Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong	28 December 2022	868 days
3000 m	3:54.04	Irene Schouten	20 November 2022	906 days
5000 m	6:41.25	Irene Schouten	5 March 2023	801 days
10000 m	14:35.61	Carien Kleibeuker	13 March 2018	2619 days
Team sprint	1:26.17	Russia	10 January 2020	1951 days
Team pursuit	2:54.12	Netherlands	9 January 2022	1221 days

World records

The following world records were set in Thialf.

Men
Distance	Time	Skater	Dates
			Set	Broken
500 m	36.55	Nick Thometz	19-03-1987	14-02-1988
1000 m	1:12.58	Igor Zhelezovski	25-02-1989	17-12-1993
1500 m	1:52.70	Nikolay Gulyayev	15-02-1987	05-12-1987
	1:48.88	Rintje Ritsma	20-12-1997	12-02-1998
3000 m	3:59.27	Leo Visser	19-03-1987	13-03-1990
	3:57.52	Johann Olav Koss	13-03-1990	03-04-1992
	3:52.67	Jelmer Beulenkamp	25-02-1998	21-03-1998
5000 m	6:47.01	Leo Visser	14-02-1987	22-11-1987
	6:45.44	Geir Karlstad	22-11-1987	04-12-1987
	6:41.73	Johann Olav Koss	09-02-1991	22-01-1993
	6:38.77	Johann Olav Koss	22-01-1993	13-03-1993
	6:36.57	Johann Olav Koss	13-03-1993	04-12-1993
	6:30.63	Gianni Romme	07-12-1997	08-02-1998
10000 m	14:03.92	Geir Karlstad	15-02-1987	06-12-1987
	13:43.54	Johann Olav Koss	10-02-1991	20-02-1994
	13:03.40	Gianni Romme	26-11-2000	20-02-2002
	12:57.92	Carl Verheijen	04-12-2005	31-12-2005
	12:49.88	Sven Kramer	11-02-2007	10-03-2007
	12:32.95	Nils van der Poel	14-02-2021	11-02-2022

Women
Distance	Time	Skater	Dates
			Set	Broken
500 m	39.43	Bonnie Blair	19-03-1987	06-12-1987
3000 m	4:16.85	Yvonne van Gennip	19-03-1987	05-12-1987
	4:07.80	Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann	07-12-1997	13-12-1997
	4:05.08	Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann	14-03-1998	27-03-1998
5000 m	7:40.97	Andrea Schöne	23-01-1983	15-01-1984
	7:20.36	Yvonne van Gennip	20-03-1987	28-02-1988
	6:55.34	Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann	25-11-2000	10-03-2001

Other events

The arena has hosted concerts by many famous artists, including Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, André Rieu, TOTO, Trance Energy and Prince, among others.

Also, the national Miss Universe competition was held in Thialf several times.

See also

• List of indoor arenas in the Netherlands
• List of indoor speed skating rinks