Schenksenrijder Supreme!
F
ifty years ago in February of 1972, Ard Schenk became the star of the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. Schenk would garner world attention for his three gold-medal speed skating performance, and become a national hero in his home country of the Netherlands. Adrianus Schenk was born in the small rural town of Anna Paulowna in the Netherlands on September 16, 1944. At 6’3" and 198 pounds, Schenk was a large, powerful speed skater, with long, graceful strides that gobbled up a lot of ice surface.
by Richard Martinovich
Winter 2022
As a 19-year-old teenager, “Ard” Schenk was flagbearer for the Netherlands Olympic team at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Ard was a gifted speed skater, the son of Klaas Schenk, a national speed skating coach. Schenk finished thirteenth in the 1,500 meters in the 1964 Olympics, but four years later at the 1968
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