Jaap Eden - Skating Successes

Skating Successes

Two days before the championships, Eden won Dutch championships over 1500m and 5000m. His time in the 1500 m, 2:35.0 is the first ISU-recognised world record in that distance. This made Eden, who trained in Norway earlier that winter, a favourite for the world championships.

In the 1500 m, Eden tied with Oskar Frederiksen (Norway) in the preliminaries, but beat him in a head-to-head final race. He outclassed the field in the 5000m, winning by half a minute, while his main opponent Frederiksen did not finish. Eden was challenged again by Frederiksen in the first run of the 500m on the second day, but in the final Eden again beat the Norwegian. This meant Eden's third victory, sufficient for the world title. Frederiksen skated the first official world record in the 10000m. Eden, skating alone in the last race, fell after the first lap and abandoned the race.

After his victory, Eden was welcomed by a crowd in his home town Haarlem. He became known throughout the country, and many products bearing his name were produced, such as cigars, chocolates and an alcoholic beverage.

The next winter, Eden trained in Hamar, Norway and travelled to Stockholm for the world championships in early February 1894. Because of bad weather, the championships were held in nearby Saltsjöbaden. The 500m, saw Eden paired with Frederiksen. The Norwegian false-started, but was unaware of this until the finish. He was requested to re-skate immediately, but he wanted to recover. Eden, convinced Frederiksen would be disqualified, skated alone, finishing in 50.4seconds. Frederiksen matched it in his second attempt. Jaap Eden did not want to skate a tie-breaker and Frederiksen won after drawing lots.

Eden skated a world record in 10,000m. With 19:12.4, he was half a minute ahead of the others. In the third distance, he lost to Einar Halvorsen, which meant no world champion. Eden failed to finish the final distance after a fall.

Two weeks later, the European championships took place in Hamar. Eden failed to compete on the first day, officially because of the strong wind. However, he was in his hotel with one of the chambermaids. Eden returned to the ice on the second day, and displayed won the 5,000m in 8:37.6 — a world record by almost half a minute. The record remained for nearly 17 years, until it was broken by Nikolay Strunnikov2.