Heather Bergsma Wiki: 5 Facts To Know About Jorrit Bergsma's Wife

Every four years the world comes alive when the Olympic Games are broadcast on television all around the world. They only happen once every four years, which means they really are a pretty big deal with America almost always at the forefront. Each country only sends the best athletes to participate in the games but the United States always seems to dominate, in almost every sport, including snow games. Americans are also very supportive of their athletes so when you just so happen to be one of these athletes, you tend to get recognition even if you didn't happen to win a medal. One such athlete from the the United States is speed skater Heather Bergsma, who competed at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and finished in position three and position eight, respectively, in her events. Heather Bergsma is the wife of Jorrit Bergsma, also a speed skater who represents the Netherlands. The 28-year-old was born in High Point, North Carolina and she flies the American flag as a speed skater. She hasn’t won a medal in the Olympics, yet, including the 2018 Olympic Winter Games but that won't stop her from competing. Jorrit Bergsma’s wife, Heather Bergsma first competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics where she took the sixth place in the 500 meters, ninth in the 1000 meters and finally sixteenth in the 1500 meters. From there, Bergsma competed at the 2011 World Single Distance Championship in Inzell, Germany where she emerged with a bronze medal in the 1000 meters. Jorrit Bergsma’s wife also finished eighth in the 500 meters, and she was also part of US pursuit team that finished eighth. In 2013, Heather Bergsma won a gold medal at the 2013 World Sprint Championship which took place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since then, Bergsma has won several medals including silver and bronze medal and a couple of numerous podium placings in the prestigious World Cup. She also won a bronze medal in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and she currently holds the record in the 2x500 meter as well as the 1500 meter. Besides that, the speed skater is the current American holder on the 500-meter distance. Bergsma briefly held the 1000 meters world record in 2015 as well as the sprint combination world record from 2013 to 2017. Heather Bergsma has been the wife of Dutch speed skater and also a marathon skater known as Jorrit Bergsma since 2015. This season she competed as Heather Richardson-Bergsma.

Bergsma was introduced to skating as a little a girl by her parents. Bergsma’s parents would race and do artistic racing on four-wheeled roller skates. From her home, it was a two-minute drive to the local roller rink situated in High Point, North Carolina. Heather Bergsma loved skating so much that she wanted to go skating even when she was sick. Jorrit Bergsma’s wife was spotted by the local coach at the rink and he suggested that Bergsma take speed skating classes. It wasn’t her will, but her parents forced her to wait for over a year before participating in her first competition. This helped the speed skater become hooked on the sport. She loved it so much that when she competed in her first race she won everything. That motivated her to stay with the sport. She competed on inline skates for nine years, but after she graduated in high school, she switched to skating on ice. Shortly after finishing the world championships on inlines in 2007, Bergsma stayed at home for two weeks and called Derek Parra who is an Olympic champion speed skater. She told him that she was interested in learning ice speed skating and asked if he could allow her to join the group which was known as the 'Wheels to Ice Program.' Two weeks later, Bergsma had her bags packed and her parents took her to Salt Lake City. To Bergsma’s surprise, the transition was a little bit harder than she expected. The first time she set foot on the ice, Parra told her that she was like “Bambi on Ice.” But it didn’t take long for Bergsma to be comfortable wearing ice skates. In fact, two months later, she made her debut at the World Cup circuit.

The United States missed a medal in long-track speed skating as the women’s team pursuit but they did the best they could and got an unexpected bronze medal in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Despite having some of the best speed skaters in the world, Heather Bergsma and Brittany Bowe, the US team was in the eight-strong field qualifiers because Russia had been ousted as a result of the doping-relating sanctions put on the country. It somehow helped to put Heather Bergsma on the map and earn her some recognition as well. The Americans put up a brave fight against their northern neighbors, the Canadians and bet them for the bronze medal. However, if it were not for Mia Manganello, the Americans would have lost it, and Bergsma celebrated in on Twitter. Earlier, the US’s team which included Manganello, Schoutens, Bowe, and Bergsma had been defeated by the unstoppable Netherlands group. The US didn’t put a fight in the semi thus allowing Bergsma and Manganello stay as fresh as possible. Previously, Jorrit Bergsma’s wife had a disappointing game while Bowe came in fourth. The bronze medal was a major relief for the US at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games after they blanked utterly at Sochi the past four years and also they were unable to step on the podium in the Olympics until after the pursuit.

Before the 2018 Olympics Winter Games began, it looked like Heather Bergsma would win more medals than any US athlete in the event but she managed to finish eighth in both of her best races. The speed skater appeared to leave the games without a medal for yet another time after missing to do so in two previous Olympics Games. Not only was this a disappointment for her but also the United States even though it was a pleasant US speed skating performance. The last athlete to win a speed skating medal was Jennifer “Miami Ice” Rodriguez and it was in 2002. Heather Bergsma’s last lap in 1000m was three seconds slower than the penultimate one while her other one was three-second free fall in the 1500m and was won by Netherland’s Jorien ter Mors. After the loss, Bergsma stated that she had given it her best shot and she never felt quite as good as she did last year. The previous season, Bergsma has bagged 9 out of the 11 World Cup starts as well as world championship titles in the Olympic venue. This season, she the speed skater took the sixth position twice, third, second and first in her starts and then proceeded to skip the last two World Cups that happened in December and January. In an interview, Bergsma stated that she felt different this season both physically and mentally, but she didn’t know the reason and posted the same on Twitter. Training was good for her and she had trained more than she did the year before. Bergsma has been training in the Netherlands. Being the wife of Jorrit Bergsma, she has been training beside him and the even shared a coach in 2014. Jorrit Bergsma has also struggled this season and didn’t get a chance to step on the podium during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Bergsma was hoping she could win a gold medal at the concluded 2018 Winter Olympic Games but she also a plan for her future. In fact, if you read Bergsma’s Team USA profile, you will learn that she plans to attend a dental school after she retires from speed skating. Of course, the speed skater and the wife of Jorrit Bergsma is very happy to wait a little while before she settles into a classroom. Bergsma competed in four events at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games and from her Instagram and Twitter posts, she was hopeful of winning medals. No American speed skater has scooped over three Olympic medals at a single event after Eric Heiden reaped five golds in 1980. Even though Bergsma didn’t make any promises, she was the first in the Team USA to admit that she had high expectations. She stated that she had four chances and promised to do her best at all four. Despite all her effort, she only came with one bronze medal and it looks like she might decide to enroll in dental school, sooner than later.

The 2018 Olympic Winter Games track wasn’t her first one in the Olympics. Bergsma made her debut at the 2010 Vancouver games but never managed to pull a win. Things then took a different direction when she won gold at the World Sprint Championship in 2013 and when she won the 100m race at three of four World Cup events before the 2014 Sochi games. Bergsma had high expectations entering her second Olympic games, but once again, it proved hard for her like the previous one, and she tried hard to find herself on the podium. She finished seventh in each of her events. However, the second Olympics for her which was in Sochi made her more popular. She managed to make her presence known since leaving Sochi even though she didn’t win a medal.

Heather Bergsma’s net worth is still under wraps, but obviously she has a decent net worth for being an athlete and title holder. In fact, she also has some sponsors who pay her for her endorsement, making her richer. Her husband, Jorrit Bergsma also has a good net worth which he has made representing the Netherlands.

It isn’t the end of the road for Mrs. Bergsma. She has another four years to prepare for the next Olympics. Otherwise, Bergsma is a winner and her Twitter followers really motivate her a lot.