Olympic Legend Dr. Eric Heiden MD shows us his Olympic skates

Orthopedic surgeon and US Olympic hero Dr. Eric Heiden shows us his speedskates and talks about the care needed to make them fast.
Learn more about Dr. Eric Heiden, here: heidenortho.co...
Learn more about US Speedskating, here: www.teamusa.or...
Learn more about Eric St.Pierre DC, here: espsportsmedic...

[@markoverwater2179]

A hero!
Bye from the Netherlands

[@cassandrawiseman2141]

Dr. Heiden Rock's! Thank you for all you do!

[@espsportsmedicine-lifeands6115]

He is special. ESP

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

cool stuff, ERic Heiden was huge in The Netherlands in the years he competed. I have seen him compete several times and even after he had quit he was a very welcome guest on big tournaments. The story about the skates (Viking Specials with kangaroo-leather shoes) brings back sweet memories. I remember buying my first pair from Jaap Haverkotte, the founder of Viking skates. Back then Viking was like the backbone of elite speedskating with only a handful of different brands being present on the highest level of the sport.

[@pixsilvb9638]

This guy had the body of Apollo. Remember when I was a kid I saw the Lake Placid Winter Olympics opening ceremony in TV and Eric Heiden was the flag bearer for the US Team. They all came up wearing a white cowboy hat and a brownish winter leather jacket with a wool neck. It was awesome and Eric stood by his reputation later on earning 5 Olympic gold medals in various speed skate races in Lake Placid.

[@mjb12141963]

Records were made to be broken. Who knows when or IF Eric's will be. He was such a joy to watch that year. There has not been a year pass since then that I have not thought about his awesome performances. After that, I would think becoming a doctor would be relative ease for him.

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

Which records do you mean, his 5 golds or his distance records? The 10.000 metres world record he skated in Lake Placid was broken the same year by Thomas Gustafson. The world record now (Nils van der Poel) is 2 minutes faster than Heiden's 10k.

[@galenstone9097]

No one will ever repeat Eric's performance.

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

Probably not, but that is mainly because the sport has changed dramatically. Allround championships were the core of speedskating in Heiden's days. Ever since the single distance championships gained momentum in the late 1990's, the sport became more specialized with single distance specialists being able to compete weekly every winter.

[@galenstone9097]

@@jeroenschoondergang5923 its not much of a fan that attempts to take away from what he accomplished.

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

@@galenstone9097 at the time of his accomplishments no one acknowledged his results more than the Dutch speed skating fans. Even before the Olympics Heiden was a big thing over here, when most Americans didn't know of his existence. His five medal streak is speed skating history and he is one of the greats of the sport. My remark was just stating a fact: speed skating has evolved into a sport of specialists. Next Olympics in Italy, Jordan Stolz is a top contender for the three short and mid distances, he is arguably the best speed skater of this era. He is however falling short on the longer distances. It has become a game of specialists. Heiden will tell you the same thing. He is still closely involved in the sport.

[@galenstone9097]

@@jeroenschoondergang5923 yeah. ok.

[@maytc2011]

Never say never

[@michaelmorine9430]

I met Eric the day before the 10,000 in Lake Placid
. His legs were HUGE!

[@maytc2011]

This is interesting because Jordan Stolz sharpens his own skates, from an early age I think.

[@towdjumper5]

“EH”, the GREATEST SKATER EVER”!

[@joecalandra3169]

Eric is the man!!