Thialf (Heerenveen)

 ice rink, speedskating oval

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Thialf is an arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands, primarily used for speedskating and ice hockey. Thialf, named after Thor's servant Thialfi who had to race a giant, opened in 1967 as an outdoor rink. The covered stadium, which seats 12,500 people, opened on 17 November 1986, about a year after Sportforum Hohenschönhausen in Berlin, which was the first covered oval in the world. Thanks to the indoor conditions, allowing climate control, almost all world speed skating records were broken at Thialf in the first season. Since 1988 it has been overtaken as the "fastest ice in the world" by the high-altitude indoor rinks in Calgary and Salt Lake City, which have the additional benefit of low air pressure. Thialf is perhaps the most important of all ice rinks. Every year there are main skating events like the world championships.