Heiden, Eric
Heiden, Eric hī´dən [key], 1958–, American speed skater, b. Madison, Wis. After competing in the 1976 Winter Olympics, he won three consecutive World Speedskating Championships (1977–79). In 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., he became the first athlete ever to win five gold medals in a single Winter Olympics. After his retirement from competition, he became an orthopedic surgeon and the medical director of the U.S. speedskating and cycling teams.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Sports: Biographies
Browse By Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-