Hans van Helden is a former speed skater, originally competing for the Netherlands, later for France.
Education
Being the then-current world record holder on the 5,000 m, he "only" finished 3rd on that distance during the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, possibly because the ice was in much worse condition during his race than it was when his major rivals (Sten Stensen and Piet Kleine) ran theirs.
Career
In Dutch skating, Van Helden was known as an enfant terrible. As a Frenchman, having very little competition from other French skaters, he had no problems qualifying for skating events. This also resulted in a long career as a speed skater and he participated in international competitions until he was 40.
One of his most memorable feats was finishing 4th on the 1,500 m during the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, aged 35, and well ahead of his former compatriots, Dutchmen Hilbert van der Duim, Frits Schalij, and Hein Vergeer.
World records
Over the course of his career, Van Helden skated two world records:
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com
Personal records
To put these personal records in perspective, the last column (WR) lists the official world records on the dates that Van Helden skated his personal records. Van Helden was number one on the Adelskalender, the all-time allround speed skating ranking, from 13 March 1976 to 25 December 1976 – a total of 287 days.
He has an Adelskalender score of 163.047 points.