Yvonne van Gennip

Yvonne Maria Thérèse van Gennip ( born May 1, 1964 in Haarlem ) is a Dutch speed skater. It was in 1988 triple Olympic champion.

Van Gennip took in 1984 in Sarajevo Winter Olympics in part. Her best reached with a fifth over 3000 meters.

The 1988 Olympics in Calgary became a triumph for her career. Although van Gennip had violated two months before the Games begin on the foot and had to undergo an operation, she sat down in three Olympic finals against strong competition from the GDR. They broke several records: Over 3,000 meters they improved the world record by almost 5 seconds over 1,500 meters, they undercut their personal best by nearly four seconds over 5,000 meters and it was at the end of nearly seven seconds faster than her own world record. With three gold medals van Gennip became the most successful athlete of the Winter Games on par with the Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen. Upon returning to her hometown she was greeted by 60,000 people.

Four years later, at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville succeeded van Gennip no longer to continue this splendid success. Their only result was a sixth place over 3,000 meters.