Yvonne Hijgenaar

Hijgenaar is a former speed skater who for two years was in the Netherlands national team. In 2001, she switched from skating to track cycling after finding she rode so much better than she skated that she could often ride by male riders in training. When her former skating teammates made technical advances better than she could, she stayed permanently in cycling. "When I look at the number of national championships, world championships and an Olympic Games that I've ridden, I am happy with my choice," she said. ==Olympic Games==

Hijgenaar represented the Netherlands at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens where she took part in the individual sprint as well as the 500 metres time trial. She did not impress in the individual sprint where she finished 11th. However, her 500 metres time trial time of 34.532 (52.125 km/h) brought her fifth place. In November 2007 she trained with the national team of Australia in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. "Track racing in the Netherlands is a small sport and we do not have a coaching team available for 12 months of the year as they do in Australia. If only we did." she said. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Hijgenaar and teammate Willy Kanis came 5th in the women's team sprint. ==2009 World Championships==

Hijgenaar won her fourth World Championship medal on 28 March 2009, taking the bronze medal in the Omnium, the first time the competition had been included for women in the World Championships. She was on equal points with Tara Whitten of Canada but missed out on that medal despite winning the 200 m flying start time trial and 500 m time trial events in the omnium. She has now set the London Olympics of 2012 as a possible end to her career. If she fails to win a medal, she predicts she will stop. ==Career highlights==

;2001 :1st 500 m, Dutch National Track Championships :2nd Sprint, Dutch National Track Championships ;2002 :3rd European Championship, Track, 500 m, U23 :1st 500 m, Dutch National Track Championships :1st Sprint, Dutch National Track Championships ;2003 :3rd Sydney, 500 m (AUS) :1st 500 m, Dutch National Track Championships :1st Keirin, Dutch National Track Championships :1st Sprint, Dutch National Track Championships ;2004 :1st 500 m, Dutch National Track Championships :1st Keirin, Dutch National Track Championships :1st Sprint, Dutch National Track Championships :3rd Moscow, 500 m (RUS) :3rd Moscow, Team Sprint (RUS) :1st Manchester, 500 m (GBR) :1st Sydney, 500 m (AUS) :2nd Athens Open Balkan Championship, Track, Sprint, Elite/U23 (GRE) :2nd Moscow, 500 m (RUS) ;2005 :3rd Los Angeles, 500 m (USA) :3rd Sydney, Sprint (AUS) :1st Sydney, 500 m (AUS) :3rd 500 m, Track World Championships :3rd Keirin, Track World Championships :2nd Manchester, 500 m (GBR) :1st Sprint, Dutch National Track Championships :1st 500 m, Dutch National Track Championships :1st Keirin, Dutch National Track Championships ;2006 :3rd Los Angeles, 500 m (USA) :1st Sydney, 500 m (AUS) :3rd Sydney, 500 m (AUS) :1st Moscow, Team Sprint (RUS) ;2007 :1st Los Angeles, Team Sprint (USA) :2nd Manchester, 500 m (GBR) :1st Manchester, Team Sprint (GBR) :2nd Team Sprint, Track World Championships :1st Sydney, Team Sprint (AUS) :1st Beijing, Team Sprint (CHN) :2nd Sprint, 2007 Dutch National Track Championships, Alkmaar :1st 500 m time trial, 2007 Dutch National Track Championships, Alkmaar :2nd Keirin, 2007 Dutch National Track Championships, Alkmaar ;2008 (Vrienden van het Platteland) :2nd Team Pursuit, 2007–2008 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Copenhagen :1st Los Angeles, Team Sprint (USA) ;2009 (DSB Bank-LTO) :3rd Omnium, Track World Championships :2nd Team Sprint, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Manchester :2nd Team Sprint, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Melbourne :1st Team Sprint, 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, Cali :2nd Sprint, 2009 Dutch National Track Championships, Alkmaar :2nd 500 m time trial, 2009 Dutch National Track Championships, Alkmaar :3rd Keirin, 2009 Dutch National Track Championships, Alkmaar ;2010 :3rd 2010 Dutch National Omnium Championships :2nd Sprint, 2010 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn :2nd 500 m time trial, 2010 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn :2nd Keirin, 2010 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn ;2011 :1st Sprint, 2011 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn :2nd 500 m time trial, 2011 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn :3rd Keirin, 2011 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn ;2012 :1st Sprint, 2012 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn :1st 500 m time trial, 2012 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn :3rd Keirin, 2012 Dutch National Track Championships, Apeldoorn ==National record, team pursuit==

After the introduction of the women's 3000m team pursuit at the 2007–08 track cycling season, Hijgenaar was two times part of the team pursuit squad when they established a (new) Dutch national record. The first one was the first time the Dutch team rode the team pursuit, and was broken later that day. She is not the record holder anymore. ==See also==