Athlete profile: Rintje Ritsma

Posted: Tue February 3, 1998 at 5:00 PM ET

Athlete notes

Combining looks, glamour, and raw ability, Ritsma has evolved into the most popular and well-known athlete in the Netherlands, the world's speed skating hotbed...nicknamed "Big Bird" for his blond hair, and a favorite among the Dutch women, Ritsma succeeded Norway's Johann Olav Koss as speed skating's all-around king...winner of the 1995 and 1996 World All-Around championships, Ritsma finished fifth last season as countryman Ids Postma grabbed the mantle as "world's best skater," but did redeem himself with victories in both the 1,500 and 5,000m in the Single Distance championships...he has achieved much of his success after boldly deciding to separate from the Dutch national all-around program and form his own private team in 1995...sponsored by Sanex, a company that manufactures body care products, Ritsma has his own complete entourage including a coach, manager, physiotherapist, and doctor...along with manager Patrick Wouters, Ritsma even formed a firm called Top Sports Marketing to handle his publicity...Ritsma frequently appears on Dutch television hawking Sanex products and, much like two-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Jordan's endorsement elevated Nike's presence in the U.S. athletic footwear market in the late 1980s, Ritsma has carried Sanex to previously unknown levels of profitability in Holland..."No one had heard of this company before," says Wibiren Boer, speed skating writer for the Volkskrant newspaper. "But it is now, by far, the most well-known body care company in Holland. No one will say how much they pay him for the sponsorship, but they are assumed to offer around one million guilders ($500,000) per year"...in the Netherlands, speed skating is the biggest sport and all-arounders receive the most acclaim, making Postma and Ritsma, winner of the last three all-around championships between them, the two most recognized athletes in the country...Postma, though, has little in common with his photogenic compatriot away from the ice...subtly attacking Ritsma, Dutch men's all-around head trainer Hank Gemser believes that it is Postma who embodies the true ideals of the sport..."He gets enjoyment from training on ice and he likes skating as a sportsman, but not for money or fame," says Gemser of Postma. "He likes the competition. He does not pay attention to things not in the sport," referring to Ritsma's television commercials for soap and body care products. "He likes normal clothing. I like that guy. I'm a trainer, not an entertainer"...Boer adds, "Ritsma is the most popular skater in Holland because of his looks, of course. He's more of a public figure. Rintje is very serious about getting a career out of his sportsmanship. He wants to be a manager like his own, Patrick Wouters. If the cameras are rolling, he's always smiling. Postma is not interested in these things. Postma acts (in front of cameras) the way he is at the moment"...though they do socialize on the road, Boer also hints at friction between Postma and Ritsma...in an interview with Volkskrant after Ritsma set up his own team, he said, "It irritated me in the past that there were members of the team that didn't deserve to be there, that didn't have the quality to be there"...according to Boer, Postma took Ritsma's remarks personally..."Postma thought that Ritsma was referring to him because he was sick," says Boer. "Then this year Rintje said, ‘If I'm in my best shape, no one can beat me. I'm capable of winning three gold medals in Nagano, like Koss (in Lillehammer).' Postma didn't like this at all. This has motivated him a lot. Postma is never going to say to you, ‘I'm competing against Team Ritsma,' but there's a rivalry between the national team and Team Ritsma"...Gemser, while clearly indicating his respect for Ritsma's abilities, also illustrates the force of the rivalry between his national team group, which includes Gianni Romme, Bob de Jong, and Martin Hersman in addition to Postma, and Team Ritsma..."They (the federation) first said I should give him information like the others," says Gemser. "I tell them if he doesn't get his own coach, I stop my work. I like the guy, he's a perfect sportsman, but I tell my boys we have to beat the skaters from other countries and Rintje Ritsma, too"...Ritsma did get his own coach, former Dutch all-around coach Wopke de Vegt, who had been dismissed from the team following the 1994 season..."The team voted on whether to keep him after that season," Boer explains. "Only Ritsma voted in support. They are very close. They share the same hobbies. They go to Hawaii every year to go windsurfing"...the frills of his team aside, Ritsma's success has been remarkable given that he does not have skaters at his level with whom he can train..."He's always on his own," says Boer. "There's never anyone on the ice with whom he can train, with whom he can compete. I don't think Postma could do what Ritsma has done alone for the past three years. Postma needs the company of his teammates"...on going solo, Ritsma says simply, "I'd like to encourage any sporter to do the same. Be your own boss. We have a very good agreement with the Dutch skating union"...taking a straw poll around the speed skating community, most would say Ritsma has proven to be Koss' successor primarily because both have been the most powerful skaters of their time...in admiration, Gemser says, "His power is very strong, he is doubly strong as my guys. He doesn't die from three or four training sessions every day. He can concentrate on quantity while I have to look for quality"...compatriot Martin Hersman, who only skates the middle distances, adds, "He's very strong by nature, that's the positive side of his skating. He's not so good technically but he's a really good all-arounder"...Ritsma has been one of the early beneficiaries of the clap skates...in a demonstrative display of his power, Ritsma blasted through the competition at the Dutch national championships in December, winning both the 1,500m and 5,000m...in his 1,500m victory, on December 20, Ritsma lowered the world record for the third time this season, dropping it to 1:48.88...while his sights are now clearly set on duplicating Koss' Lillehammer feat in Nagano, he will not follow Koss' lead and retire immediately after the Olympics...he plans to compete at least one more season, mainly to discover his limits on the new clap skates...Ritsma hails from the northern part of the Netherlands, only 20 miles from the indoor oval in Heerenveen...like most Dutch youngsters, he began skating on canals that are prevalent throughout the country...in the summer, he would train by running on sand dunes not far from his home...his father works for the irrigation department in Lemmer...he has one sister, Elly...Rintje has studied metallurgy in a technical school as well as management...he loves water sports, especially windsurfing, and cites his favorite holiday resorts as "any place with water and wind or mountains and snow"...a wax statue of Ritsma is currently being constructed in Amsterdam and should be ready for display in Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum by February...he also has a large fan club -- "The Rintje Ritsma fan club" -- based in the town of Leimuiden...the fan club has its own web site and anyone can join for 50 guilders if you live in Europe, or $34 for Rintje's fans outside of the Continent...Rintje speaks English...