When Gianni Romme first appeared at the Dutch National Championships, it was clear that he was a very capable long distance skater, even though his technique was still weak. Never having been part of the national team, he entered international skating in the 1996 season. After a World Cup win Baselga, he ended the season with a gold medal, winning the 10000 m at the inaugural World Single Distance Championships in Hamar.

After successfully defending that title in 1997, Romme had a fantastic Olympic season. It started by breaking the 5000 m World Record in Heerenveen. That time didn't last until the end of the season, however. At the Nagano Olympics, he became a double Olympic Champion, winning both 5000 m and 10000 m in remarkable new World Record times: 6.22,20 and 13.15,33. He closed out the season by again bettering both records at the World Single Distance Championships held at the high-altitude Calgary rink.

Being unbeatable in 1998, 1999 was a difficult season. Romme, now skating for the commercial SpaarSelect team, qualified for his first allround tournament, but the European Championships in Heerenveen were a deception, and he didn't perform well in his favourite long distances. However, he made a comeback at the end of the season, and won the 5000 m title. The following season, Romme showed he was capable of skating a good allround tournament. In Milwaukee, he outclassed the field in his first World Championships, beating Rintje Ritsma by over two points. Back in Nagano, he added two more titles to his tally at the World Single Distance Championships. At the end of the season, he was awarded the Oscar Mathisen Trophy.

Although Romme won the 5000/10000 World Cup for the third time in 2001 - en passant setting a new 10000 m World Record at the lowland track of Heerenveen- he only finished third in the 5000 m at the World Championships in Salt Lake City. This proved a bad omen for the following Olympic season. Romme struggled in the Dutch Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and only just made a place on the 10000 m team. In his third Olympic race, he tried to break his own World Record, but failed by 6 seconds. He saw both his 5000 m and 10000 m World Records broken by compatriot Jochem Uytdehaage, leaving him with a silver medal. In addition, Romme was disqualified for a bad exchange in the 1500 m at the World Championships, thereby missing out on a possible medal.

In 2003, Romme did not qualify for the World Single Distance Championships for the first time in the existence of the tournament. However, he had an otherwise outstanding season. After winning the Dutch allround title in December, he won three distances at the European Championships, and two distances at the World Championships to claim the double.

Romme became nr. 1 on the Adelskalender for the first time on 26 November 2000, but lost this place in March the following year. On 2 February 2002, Romme briefly regained the lead of the Adelskalender from Jochem Uytdehaage and became the first to break the 150.000 point barrier.

By Bjarte Hetland, last updated November 29, 2005