John Werket, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJohn Werket
American speed skater
Date of Birth: 08-Oct-1924
Place of Birth: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Date of Death: 04-Jun-2010
Profession: speed skater
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Libra 
About John Werket
- John "Johnny" Roland Werket (October 8, 1924 – June 4, 2010) was an American speed skater.
- He competed in seven events in total at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics with the best achievement of sixth place in the 1500 m in 1948.
- In 1948, he also won the 1500 m event and a silver allround medal at the world championships.
- This was the best achievement for an American skater, surpassed only in 1977 by Eric Heiden.
- In 1950, Werket finished in third place allround, but won the 500 m and 1,500 m events.
- In 1952, he finished second in the 500 m and 1,500 m and tenth overall.After graduating from Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, he enlisted as paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division and fought in World War II.
- He then graduated from Augsburg College in 1949.
- Werket was of Norwegian descent.
- While competing in Hamar, Norway, he met Vesla Bekkevoll, then aged 16, and married her on August 17, 1951 in Minneapolis.
- He retired from competitions after the 1952 World Championships and coached skating, first at the Richfield Skating Club, and then with US national team, preparing it to the 1972 Winter Olympics.
- His trainees included Diane Holum and Eric Heiden.
- In parallel he worked at the Northern States Power Company and eventually advanced to an executive position.
- He retired in 1983 after 32 years with the Northern States Power and settled in Sun City, Arizona, where he died in 2010 of stroke and cancer complications.
- He was survived by his wife and two sons, John and Jim.Personal bests: 500 m – 42.0 (1956) 1500 m – 2:16.1 (1956) 5000 m – 8:44.6 (1950) 10000 m – 18:10.2 (1950)
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