In 1999 she won the 1000 m in the
World Single Distance Championships and in 2004 became world champion in the sprint. In 2006, she won the 1000 m at the
2006 Winter Olympics in
Turin. This made her the first skater from the Netherlands to win a gold medal at two different Winter Games. Timmer broke through at the Junior World Championship in 1994, winning bronze. She began to specialize in the shorter distances.
Nagano 1998 Timmer won gold in the 1000 and 1500 meter races during the
1998 Winter Olympics in
Nagano, beating
Chris Witty in the 1000m and
Gunda Niemann in the 1500m.
Salt Lake City 2002 At the
2002 Winter Olympics in
Salt Lake City, Timmer finished 8th in the 500m, fourth in the 1000m, and 21st in the 1500m.
World Sprint Speed Skating Championships, Nagano 2004 On 18 January 2004, Timmer became the first Dutch woman to win a
World Sprint Speed Skating Championship. Though she did not win any individual distances (she got three third and one fourth place), she was the most consistent athlete and won the overall championship.
Turin 2006 At the Dutch championships, Timmer qualified for the 500m and 1000m events at the
2006 Winter Olympics. She was disqualified after a false start in the 500m race, but a week later she surprisingly won gold in the 1000m, beating out favorites
Cindy Klassen and
Anni Friesinger by a very slim margin. This result qualified her for the 1500m, where she finished 14th.
2008–09 season In January 2008, Timmer announced she wished to extend her contract with sponsor
DSB Bank, until the
2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and at the end of February 2008 the contract was signed.
2009–10 season On 13 November 2009, Timmer broke her heel on the 500m, during a
World Cup event in
Thialf. She failed to qualify for the Winter Games in Vancouver.
2010–11 season At the 2011
Dutch Single Distance Championships in Thialf, Timmer got the third-fastest time on the first 500m, but ran into
Marrit Leenstra on the second 500m, and fell. The next day, on the 1000m, she did not get farther than tenth place. Because of her first 500m result, she did qualify for the
2010–11 ISU Speed Skating World Cup. She published a biography in 2010, written by
De Telegraaf journalist Frank Woestenburg. She withdrew from the Dutch Sprint Championship on 27 December 2010 after a disappointing 500m on the first day. In May 2010 Timmer,
Annette Gerritsen, and
Margot Boer left the Control team to start their own team, sponsored by Liga, a company manufacturing biscuits and crackers. She stopped skating on 28 December 2010, though she said she would remain involved with Team Liga. Her official goodbye took place during the Tijdens het
2011 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen, on 22 January 2011. On that occasion she was named an honorary member of the KNSB. == Records ==