Sven Kramer (; born 23 April 1986) is a retired Dutch long track speed skater who has won an all time record nine World Allround Championships as well as a record ten European Allround Championships. He is the Olympic champion of the 5000 meters at the Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, and won a record 21 gold medals at the World Single Distance Championships; eight in the 5000 meters, five in the 10,000 meters, and eight in the team pursuit. Kramer is the current world record holder in the team pursuit (alongside Douwe de Vries and Marcel Bosker) and broke the world records in the 5000 meter and 10,000 meter events three times. By winning the 2010 World Allround Championship, Kramer became the first speed skater in history to win four consecutive world allround championships and eight consecutive international all round championships. He was undefeated in the 18 international allround championships he participated in from the 2006/2007 season until the 2016/2017 season. From November 2007 to March 2009, he was ranked first in the Adelskalender, but despite his dominance as an all-round skater he has since been overtaken on that list by Shani Davis and, more recently, by his teammate Patrick Roest.
On 27 March 2020, it was announced that Kramer extended his contract with the Jumbo-Visma speed skating team until the 2022 Winter Olympics.
On 28 October 2021 it was announced that Sven was going to retire in 2022.
Personal life
Sven Kramer was born on 23 April 1986 in Heerenveen, Friesland, Netherlands. He is the son of former speed skater Yep Kramer, and the four-year-older brother of speed skater Brecht Kramer. He is a born Frisian.
Since 2007 he has been in a long-term relationship with Dutch field hockey player Naomi van As, and they welcomed a daughter in October 2018.
On 3 March 2010, Kramer was awarded as Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion for his services to sport, i.e., winning the Men's 5000 m speed skating competition at the 010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. On 12 March 2022, he was further appointed as Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau for his exceptional performance in sport over the years.
Speed skating career
Junior career
In the 2004 season, he came in second at the Junior allround world championships.
In December 2004, he won the Dutch Allround Championships at just 18 years old and thus qualified for the European Allround Championships for the first time, where he won the silver medal. He came third at the World Allround Championships 2005. At the end of that season, he signed a contract with the Dutch TVM-team.
Kramer set a new world record for the 5000 m in Salt Lake City on 19 November 2005, when he was 19 years old. With his time of 6:08.78, he also entered the top 10 of the all-time world ranking, the Adelskalender. That season he became the Junior allround world champion.
Kramer stopped skating in the junior competition and became a senior speed skater when he was 20 years old.
Season 2005–2006
On 11 February 2006, he won the silver medal in the 5000 m at the 2006 Winter Olympic in Turin. Kramer also participated in the team pursuit event. The Dutch team was the favourite and was leading Italy by nearly a full second in their semi-final, but Kramer stepped on a block and fell, taking Carl Verheijen with him. In the race for bronze, they defeated Norway, giving Kramer his second medal of the Games.
Kramer also competed in two other distances, the 1500 and the 10,000 meter. Due to a screw in his skate that broke just a few minutes before his race, Kramer came in 15th at the 1500. The 10,000 meters did not go as planned, and he finished in 7th. Afterward, Kramer stepped on the concrete with his skates in his frustration, damaging the blades.
During the 2006 European Allround Championships in Hamar, Kramer reached fourth place after a tournament full of incidents. The ice began to melt on the first day, and the skaters had to wait until later in the evening to continue skating.
During the 2006 World Allround Championships in Calgary, Kramer set a new world record in the 10,000 meter event with a time of 12:51.60. Kramer won both the two longest distances of the tournament, but had to settle for bronze overall.
Season 2006–2007
In the 2006–2007 season, Kramer won the first two 5000 m World Cup races, the second in 6:09.78, just outside his world record time. In December 2006, he again became national allround champion, where a personal record in the 500 meter event, his weakest distance, gave him great prospects for the international allround championships.