Photo: Koen Suyk / Anefo / CC0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Beth Heiden

ベス・ハイデン　/　べす・はいでん

American speed skater

September 27, 1959 (age 66)　・　Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Wisconsin
speed skater
sport cyclist
cross-country skier

My Take

What fascinates me about Beth Heiden is the quiet defiance of her career. Winning Olympic speed-skating bronze in 1980 would be a career peak for most, yet she did it in the same Games where her brother Eric swept five golds, an impossible shadow to skate out of. Rather than compete on his terms, she spread herself across cycling and cross-country skiing too, becoming genuinely multi-disciplinary. I read that as a smart, almost stubborn refusal to be defined by comparison. Athletes remembered mainly as someone's sibling often deserve a second look, and Heiden absolutely does.

Overview

Elizabeth Lee Heiden Reid (born September 27, 1959) is an American athlete who excelled in speed skating, cross-country skiing, and bicycle racing. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin. She was a speedskating bronze medalist at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics, where her brother Eric won five speedskating gold medals.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1. Profile

Name (English): Beth Heiden
Name (Japanese): ベス・ハイデン
Reading: べす・はいでん
Born: September 27, 1959 (age 66)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Libra / Boar
Origin: Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Blood type: Private
Height: 157 cm
Agency: Private
Occupation: speed skater / sport cyclist / cross-country skier

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Madison West High School
University: University of Vermont

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%99%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%83%87%E3%83%B3

Speed skater — see all →　·　Sport cyclist — see all →　·　More people from United States →