Thialf
Ice rink in Heerenveen, the Netherlands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Heerenveen, Netherlands
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 Interactive map of Thialf | |
| Location | Pim Mulierlaan 1[1] Heerenveen, Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52.9386°N 5.94201°E |
| 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
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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.
Long track speed skating
Events
- Dutch championships
- * Dutch allround 1968: only for women.
- * Dutch sprint: 1969, 1973, 1979, 1982: only for men.
- European championships
- World championships
- World Cup
Track records
These are the current track records in Thialf.
| Men | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Time | Skater | Date | Duration |
| 500 m | 33.78 |  Jenning de Boo |
5 March 2026 | 10 days |
| 1000 m | 1:06.38 |  Jordan Stolz |
6 December 2025 | 99 days |
| 1500 m | 1:42.55 | Jordan Stolz |
5 December 2025 | 100 days |
| 3000 m | 3:34.09 |  Metoděj Jílek |
16 September 2025 | 180 days |
| 5000 m | 6:01.61 |  Sander Eitrem |
7 March 2026 | 8 days |
| 10000 m | 12:29.63 | Metoděj Jílek |
6 December 2025 | 99 days |
| Team sprint | 1:18.31 |  Poland |
6 January 2024 | 799 days |
| Team pursuit | 3:34.22 | Norway |
5 January 2024 | 800 days |
| Women | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Time | Skater | Date | Duration |
| 500 m | 36.67 | Femke Kok |
5 March 2026 | 10 days |
| 1000 m | 1:12.80 | Jutta Leerdam |
28 December 2022 | 1173 days |
| 1500 m | 1:52.69 | Femke Kok |
4 October 2025 | 162 days |
| 3000 m | 3:54.04 | Irene Schouten |
20 November 2022 | 1211 days |
| 5000 m | 6:41.25 | Irene Schouten |
5 March 2023 | 1106 days |
| 10000 m | 14:35.61 | Carien Kleibeuker |
13 March 2018 | 2924 days |
| Team sprint | 1:26.17 |  Russia |
10 January 2020 | 2256 days |
| Team pursuit | 2:54.12 | Netherlands |
9 January 2022 | 1526 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.
As of April 2025, it was considered whether to host the 2030 Winter Olympics long-track speed skating events in Thialf.[7][8][9] If this was to become the case, it would be the first Olympic events held in The Netherlands in 102 years.
