Mark Tuitert

Mark Tuitert (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑrk ˈtœytərt]; born 4 April 1980) is a Dutch speed skater who represented Team Beslist.nl. He won gold at the 1500 m at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Tuitert married fellow Dutch speed skater Helen van Goozen in 2009. Ten years earlier, they both won gold medals at the World Junior Speed Skating Championships.

Besides being passionate about sports, Tuitert is an avid hard rock and grunge fan. He also told Dutch webzine Lords of Metal that he was "sold" after running into Metallica and Rage Against The Machine.

2006 Olympic Games in Turin

Tuitert participated in the team pursuit event at the 2006 Winter Olympics, with teammates Sven Kramer, Carl Verheijen, Erben Wennemars and Rintje Ritsma. The Dutch team was a favourite and was leading Italy by nearly a full second in their semifinal matchup, but Sven Kramer stepped on a block and fell, taking Carl Verheijen with him. In the race for bronze they defeated Norway, giving Tuitert his first Olympic medal.

2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia he won the gold medal in the 1500 m. In the 17th pair against Håvard Bøkko he set a new track record time (1:45.57), which had been in the hands of Shani Davis (1:46.19). In the last race Davis could not beat Tuitert's time and finished second.

The only other Dutch Olympic gold medal winners at the 1500 m are Kees Verkerk at the 1968 Winter Olympics and Ard Schenk at the 1972 Winter Olympics.

2014 Olympic Games in Sochi

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Tuitert finished 10th in the 1000 m and 5th in the 1500 m.

Other

Tuitert is 17th on the adelskalender. His highest ranking was 6th between 30 December 2000 and 2 March 2001.

World records

Personal records

To put his personal records in perspective, the column WR lists the official world records on the dates that Tuitert skated his personal records.

Source: marktuitert.nl