Carolina GEIJSSEN

By winning the 1000 m in Grenoble, Carry Geijssen became the first Dutch speed skater to win an Olympic title. A Dutch champion had been expected, with the Dutch women having swept the podium at the World Championships just prior to the Olympics, with Geijssen in third. While her teammates disappointed in the 1000 m, Geijssen beat Lyudmila Titova by 3 tenths to win her second Olympic medal; she had earlier won silver in the 1500 m. Her gold medal was surrounded by slight controversy, as Geijssen's commentary on the coaching situation a day before her golden race had been taken as a critique to oust coach Piet Zwanenburg. Geijssen continued to skate for several more years, but never achieved the same level of success. Apart from her Olympic gold, her only title had been the 1966 Dutch Allround Championships. Married to cyclist Rien Langkruis, Geijssen later lived in Indonesia and Canada.

Personal Bests: 500 – 45.9 (1970); 1000 – 1:31.5 (1969); 1500 – 2:21.3 (1968); 3000 – 5:00.8 (1968).