Kees Verkerk
Cornelis Arie Verkerk
* 28 October 1942 – Maasdam, Netherlands
Cornelis Arie Verkerk
* 28 October 1942 – Maasdam, Netherlands
Kees Verkerk, son of a barkeeper from Puttershoek, made his international debut in 1964, at age 21. After placing 12th in the European Championships, Verkerk was happy to be a member of the Olympic team for the Games in Innsbruck. His second event was the 1500 m, but nothing was expected of him; the Dutch favourite was Rudi Liebrechts. But while Liebrechts disappointed and ended up as 10th, Verkerk was the surprise of the day. In spite of a much slower start than Estonian leader Ants Antson, Verkerk closed in on him in the last two laps, and was only 3 tenths of a second behind Antson's time at the finish: a silver medal.
This medal marked the start of a very successful career. The 1966 European Championships were held in Deventer, and the battle for the title became a fight between Dutch skaters Verkerk and Ard Schenk. In the 10000 m, Verkerk seemed to be closing the gap to leader Schenk when he fell. He got up quickly and still managed to skate a new national record, but Schenk won the erk's career.
Verkerk was awarded the Oscar Mathisen Trophy in 1966 and 1967, becoming the first to be awarded the trophy twice. Previously the rules only allowed a skater to win the trophy once, but they were changed to allow Verkerk to win it twice. Verkerk won the Dutch allround Championships in 1966, 1967, 1969 and 1972, and was ranked first on the Adelskalender for a total of 1444 days, from 28 February 1967 to 5 February 1968, and from 7 February 1968 to 13 February 1971. After his speed skating career ended, Verkerk moved to Norway and he has been running a camp site outside of Kristiansand.
| Show: | All | World Ch. | Multi-Sport Events | Continental Ch. | World Cup | Other Ch. | National Ch. |
| Tournament | Held | Rink | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 3000 m | 5000 m | 10000 m | Samalog | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Allround Championships 1963 | 2–3 Jan | Groningen Stadspark | 48,8 (12) | — | 2.41,4 (4) | — | 9.07,8 (3) | 20.45,5 (4) | 219.655 (4) | — |
| European Championships 1964 | 18–19 Jan | Oslo Bislett | 44,6 (21) | — | 2.13,7 (15) | — | 8.01,5 (10) | 16.11,3 (8) | 185.882 (12) | — |
| Olympic Winter Games 1964 | 29 Jan–9 Feb | Innsbruck | — | — | 2.10,6 (2) | — | 7.51,1 (9) | 16.53,4 (16) | — | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1964 | 22–23 Feb | Helsinki Olympia | 44,4 (28) | — | 2.16,9 (20) | — | 7.58,5 (13) | 16.56,3 (12) | 188.698 (11) | — |
| Dutch Allround Championships 1965 | 2–3 Jan | Amsterdam Jaap Eden | 43,8 (8) | — | 2.16,3 (4) | — | 8.00,4 (1) | 17.01,3 (3) | 188.338 (3) | — |
| European Championships 1965 | 30–31 Jan | Göteborg Nya Ullevi | 44,0 (13) | — | 2.11,7 (8) | — | 7.52,4 (4) | 16.12,1 (4) | 183.745 (8) | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1965 | 13–14 Feb | Oslo Bislett | 42,4 (14) | — | 2.14,0 (19) | — | 7.37,2 (4) | 16.26,2 (13) | 182.097 (10) | — |
| Dutch Allround Championships 1966 | 26–27 Dec | Deventer IJsselstadion | 43,7 (1) | — | 2.11,0 (1) | — | 8.01,4 (1) | 16.17,0 (1) | 184.357 (1) | — |
| European Championships 1966 | 22–23 Jan | Deventer IJsselstadion | 42,8 (4) | — | 2.09,3 (3) | — | 7.47,8 (3) | 16.01,0f (2) | 180.730 (2) | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1966 | 19–20 Feb | Göteborg Nya Ullevi | 43,0 (20) | — | 2.12,9 (1) | — | 7.42,8 (1) | 16.21,6 (1) | 182.660 (1) | — |
| Dutch Allround Championships 1967 | 7–8 Jan | Amsterdam Jaap Eden | 43,2 (3) | — | 2.11,3 (1) | — | 7.45,3 (1) | 16.13,1 (1) | 182.151 (1) | — |
| European Championships 1967 | 28–29 Jan | Lahti | 42,4 (4) | — | 2.12,9 (1) | 4.41,2 (1) | 7.47,1 (1) | — | 180.277 (1) | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1967 | 11–12 Feb | Oslo Bislett | 42,1 (9) | — | 2.10,0 (2) | — | 7.30,4 (1) | 15.51,7 (1) | 178.058 (1) | — |
| Dutch Allround Championships 1968 | 16–17 Dec | Amsterdam Jaap Eden | 44,4 (9) | — | 2.15,4 (2) | — | 8.12,1 (9) | 16.59,9 (7) | 189.738 (4) | — |
| European Championships 1968 | 27–28 Jan | Oslo Bislett | 42,4 (11) | — | 2.08,2 (9) | — | 8.03,4 (7) | 15.48,5 (7) | 180.898 (8) | — |
| Olympic Winter Games 1968 | 6–18 Feb | Grenoble | 42,6 (33) | — | 2.03,4 (1) | — | 7.23,2 (2) | 15.33,9 (5) | — | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1968 | 24–25 Feb | Göteborg Nya Ullevi | 42,1 (9) | — | 2.08,2 (5) | — | 7.30,9 (2) | 15.55,9 (6) | 177.718 (4) | — |
| Dutch Allround Championships 1969 | 11–12 Jan | Heerenveen Thialf | 42,1 (2) | — | 2.09,9 (1) | — | 7.29,8 (1) | 15.51,4 (1) | 177.950 (1) | — |
| European Championships 1969 | 25–26 Jan | Inzell | 41,4 (6) | — | 2.04,4 (1) | — | 7.47,0 (10) | 15.03,6 (1) | 174.747 (2) | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1969 | 15–16 Feb | Deventer IJsselstadion | 42,6 (22) | — | 2.08,7 (1) | — | 7.24,1 (1) | 16.05,4 (4) | 178.180 (3) | — |
| European Championships 1970 | 24–25 Jan | Innsbruck | 41,68 (11) | — | 2.08,2 (10) | — | 7.32,9 (1) | 15.59,1 (4) | 177.658 (7) | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1970 | 14–15 Feb | Oslo Bislett | 41,57 (10) | — | 2.04,6 (2) | — | 7.29,0 (2) | 15.28,6 (3) | 174.433 (3) | — |
| Dutch Allround Championships 1971 | 10–11 Jan | Amsterdam Jaap Eden | 42,04 (4) | — | 2.06,5 (2) | — | 8.00,2 (8) | 16.04,4 (5) | 180.446 (4) | — |
| European Championships 1971 | 23–24 Jan | Heerenveen Thialf | 42,46 (16) | — | 2.06,5 (4) | — | 7.50,4 (4) | 15.29,1 (2) | 178.122 (3) | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1971 | 13–14 Feb | Göteborg Nya Ullevi | 42,08 (12) | — | 2.09,4 (10) | — | 7.20,6 (2) | 15.13,7 (2) | 174.958 (3) | — |
| Dutch Allround Championships 1972 | 8–9 Jan | Deventer IJsselstadion | 41,81 (1) | — | 2.07,12 (1) | — | 7.48,24 (4) | 16.00,86 (3) | 179.050 (1) | — |
| European Championships 1972 | 22–23 Jan | Davos | 40,95 (13) | — | 2.02,90 (7) | — | 7.21,82 (3) | 15.08,41 (1) | 171.520 (4) | — |
| Olympic Winter Games 1972 | 3–13 Feb | Sapporo Makomanai | — | — | 2.07,43 (8) | — | 7.39,17 (6) | 15.04,70 (2) | — | — |
| World Allround Championships Men 1972 | 19–20 Feb | Oslo Bislett | 42,25 (20) | — | 2.07,74 (9) | — | 7.31,44 (6) | 15.44,01 (5) | 177.175 (6) | — |
| ISSL European Championships 1973 | 20–21 Jan | Skien | 42,01 (7) | — | 2.09,95 (7) | — | 7.35,65 (2) | 15.46,27 (3) | 178.206 (5) | — |
| ISSL World Championships 1973 | 10–11 Feb | Göteborg Nya Ullevi | 41,39 (7) | — | 2.06,38 (5) | — | 7.27,85 (3) | 15.41,77 (5) | 175.391 (6) | — |
| WISO European Championships 1974 | 9–10 Feb | Savalen | 40,56 (3) | — | 2.03,76 (3) | — | 7.34,30 (4) | 15.23,55 (1) | 173.421 (3) | — |
| Date | Distance | Time | Rink |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Feb 1967 | Allround Men | 178.058 | Oslo Bislett |
| 26 Feb 1967 | 1500 m Men | 2.03,9 | Inzell |
| 26 Feb 1967 | 5000 m Men | 7.26,6 | Inzell |
| 10 Mar 1968 | Allround Men | 172.058 | Inzell |
| 26 Jan 1969 | 10000 m Men | 15.03,6 | Inzell |
| 9 Feb 1969 | 1500 m Men | 2.02,0 | Davos |
| 1 Mar 1969 | 5000 m Men | 7.13,2 | Inzell |
| 8 Mar 1970 | 1500 m Men | 2.01,9 | Inzell |