Rintje Ritsma

Rintje Ritsma

Rintje Ritsma in 2006
Personal information
Nickname	Beer van Lemmer
Nationality	Dutch
Born	(1970-04-13) 13 April 1970 (age 54) Lemmer, Netherlands
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	93 kg (205 lb)
Website	www.rintjeritsma.nl
Sport
Country	Netherlands
Sport	Speed skating
Turned pro	1988
Retired	2008
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	500 m: 38.90 (1999) 1000 m: 1:10.19 (1999) 1500 m: 1:45.86 (2002) 3000 m: 3:49.29 (2004) 5000 m: 6:20.26 (2005) 10 000 m: 13:28.19 (1998)
Medal record Men's speed skating Representing  Netherlands Olympic Games 1994 Lillehammer 1,500 m 1998 Nagano 5,000 m 1994 Lillehammer 5,000 m 1998 Nagano 1,500 m 1998 Nagano 10,000m 2006 Turin Team pursuit World Allround Championships 1995 Baselga di Pinè allround 1996 Inzell allround 1999 Hamar allround 2001 Budapest allround 1998 Heerenveen allround 2003 Gothenburg allround 1993 Hamar allround 1994 Gothenburg allround 2000 Milwaukee allround World Single Distance Championships 1997 Warsaw 1,500 m 1997 Warsaw 5,000 m 1998 Calgary 5,000 m 1997 Warsaw 10,000m 1999 Heerenveen 1,500 m European Allround Championships 1994 Hamar allround 1995 Heerenveen allround 1996 Heerenveen allround 1998 Helsinki allround 1999 Heerenveen allround 2000 Hamar allround 1997 Heerenveen allround 2003 Heerenveen allround 1992 Heerenveen allround 1993 Heerenveen allround

Robert Rintje Ritsma (born 13 April 1970)^[1] is a Dutch former long track speed skater. His nickname is the Beer van Lemmer, which translates to the "Bear from Lemmer", analogous to Igor Zhelezovski's nickname "The Bear from Minsk", both of which are in reference to their imposing physical appearance.

He appeared in the Dutch version of The Masked Singer as the Springbok.

In October 2022 Ritsma started as the Dutch national speed skating coach of the team pursuit, team sprint, and the mass start.^[2]