Jan Kooiman (born 9 February 1953) is a Dutch former long-track and marathon speed skater. He was the Dutch marathon champion three times (in 1982, 1983, and 1986) and won the Royal Dutch Skating Federation (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders Bond; KNSB) Cup standings in 1982. He held the world one-hour record from March 1983 to November 1986 and won the Alternative Elfstedentocht in 1987 and 1993.
Career
Early years
Kooiman came from a farming family in the village of Ammerstol in the Krimpenerwaard region of eastern South Holland. He started out as a long-track speed skater. In 1974, he became the regional champion of South Holland. After marrying Ineke van Homoet in 1976, he scaled back his training for a year to undertake a renovation of their house. Once the renovation was complete, he resumed intensive training. In February 1978, he participated in the Dutch All-round Championships, where he finished in tenth place. His best performance was a seventh-place finish in the 10-kilometre event. A year later, he switched to marathon speed skating. He made his début on 3 November 1979, at the Jaap Eden Trophy, the season opener, finishing fourth.
Period of success
Kooiman preferred artificial ice over natural ice. On 13 February 1982, he won his first national marathon title at De Uithof in The Hague. That same year, he also won the KNSB Cup overall standings. In 1983, he successfully defended his national marathon title at the De Meent ice rink in Alkmaar. He finished second in the KNSB Cup that year, behind winner Henk Portengen. Kooiman's peak years were in the earlier half of the 1980s. On 8 March 1983, he made a successful attempt on the world one-hour record at the ice rink in Inzell, Germany. He bested the two-year-old record held by Jos Niesten and became the first skater to surpass the 38-kilometre mark. The new record distance of 38,558.45 metres stood for nearly four years, until Hilbert van der Duim broke the record on 28 November 1986, also in Inzell, with a distance of 39,492.80 metres.
Kooiman played a pivotal role in the outcome of the 1985 Elfstedentocht. On the way to Dokkum, he broke away from the lead group of twelve skaters. Evert van Benthem quickly joined him, followed by Henri Ruitenberg and Jos Niesten. This group of four then sprinted for the overall victory. In the final stages, Kooiman was unaware of the exact distance remaining to the finish line. He was leading as they entered the final turn onto the Bonkevaart (canal), only to realize with shock, just as the finish line came into sight, that he was in the worst possible position. He lost the sprint and finished fourth behind winner Van Benthem, Ruitenberg (second), and Niesten (third). He had lost his card before even reaching the first checkpoint. Kooiman's stamp-covered skating suit was later to be seen at the Hindeloopen skating museum. Kooiman finished sixth in the 1986 Elfstedentocht, trailing Evert van Benthem by 4 minutes and 28 seconds. He also participated in the 1997 Elfstedentocht. By then, he had already retired from competitive skating for several years; he finished in 62nd place, nearly an hour behind the winner, Henk Angenent.
Alternative Elfstedentocht
Two weeks after finishing fourth in the Elfstedentocht, he travelled to Kuopio, Finland, where an "Alternative Elfstedentocht" was held on 2 March 1985. Kooiman broke away from a large lead group together with Theun Busser but lost the sprint, finishing second. Two years later came his second chance, and this time Kooiman did cross the finish line as the winner in Kuopio. It was a double success for the family, as Ineke Kooiman-van Homoet won the women's event. Towards the end of his career, on 27 January 1993, he once again won the 200-kilometre alternative race held on the Weißensee in Austria.
Personal life
In 2013, Jan and Ineke Kooiman received the Roel van der Bas Medal from the "De Lekstreek" ice skating club in recognition of their contributions to the club, including their work as skating coaches. In 2012, they moved to Warns in Friesland for a small farmhouse and a two-hectare plot of land. Jan Kooiman, who had grown up on a dairy farm, wanted to keep a few cows, but land prices in the west were too high.
Their son Erik Jan Kooiman also became a marathon speed skater.
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