Editing Eric Heiden (section)

== Athletic career ==
===Speed skating===
Heiden won the [[World Junior Speed Skating Championships]] in 1977 and 1978. During his short speed skating career, Heiden won three [[World Allround Speed Skating Championships|World Allround Championships]] and four [[World Sprint Speed Skating Championships|World Sprint Championships]], becoming the youngest athlete to do so. Three times he broke the [[List of world records in speed skating|world record]] in the 1000&nbsp;metres, twice in the 3000&nbsp;metres, and once each in the 1500&nbsp;metres and 10000&nbsp;metres. He also broke the points world record in both allround and the sprinting distances.

Heiden finished his speed skating career by finishing second behind [[Hilbert van der Duim]] at the 1980 [[World Allround Speed Skating Championships|World Allround Championships]] in [[Heerenveen]]. He stood at the top of the Adelskalender, a ranking system for long-track speed skating, for a record 1,495 days,<ref name="ReferenceA" /> and he won the [[Oscar Mathisen Award]] four times in a row from 1977 until 1980. As of {{currentyear}}, he still is the only skater who has won the award four times.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

He received the 1980 [[James E. Sullivan Award]] as the top amateur athlete in the United States. In 1983, he was inducted into the [[United States Olympic Hall of Fame]].

Heiden was elected to the [[Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame]] in 1990.

==== World records ====
[[File:Eric Heiden 1977c.jpg|thumb|Heiden in 1977]]
[[File:Eric Heiden 1977b.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Heiden in 1977]]
[[File:Eric Heiden and Beth Heiden 1977.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Eric and Beth Heiden in 1977 in [[Alkmaar]], the Netherlands]]
[[File:Eric Heiden 1980c.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Heiden in 1980]]
Over the course of Heiden's career he skated 15 [[world record]]s:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Discipline!!Time!!Date!!Location
|-
| 1500 m junior || '''2:02.75''' || January 18, 1976 || align=left| Madonna di Campiglio
|-
| 5000 m junior || '''7:30.23''' || February 20, 1977 || align=left| Inzell
|-
| 1500 m junior || '''1:59.46''' || February 20, 1977 || align=left| Inzell
|-
| Allround junior || '''168.716''' || February 19–20, 1977 || align=left| Inzell
|-
| 3000 m junior || '''4:16.2''' || February 4, 1977 || align=left| Montreal
|-
| Allround junior || '''166.584''' || February 4–5, 1977 || align=left| Montreal
|-
| 5000 m junior || '''7:23.54''' || February 5, 1978 || align=left| Montreal
|-
|[[World record progression 3000 m speed skating men|3000 m]] || '''4:07.01''' || March 2, 1978 || align=left| [[Eisstadion Inzell|Inzell]]
|-
|[[World record progression 1000 m speed skating men|1000 m]] || '''1:14.99''' || March 12, 1978 || align=left| [[Savalen]]
|-
|[[Samalog|Big combination]] || '''162.973''' || February 11, 1979 || align=left| [[Bislett Stadium|Oslo]]
|-
|1000 m || '''1:14.99''' || February 17, 1979 || align=left| Inzell
|-
|3000 m || '''4:06.91''' || March 18, 1979 || align=left| Savalen
|-
|1000 m || '''1:13.60''' || January 13, 1980 || align=left| [[Vaillant Arena|Davos]]
|-
|[[Samalog|Sprint combination]] || '''150.250''' || January 13, 1980 || align=left| Davos
|-
|[[World record progression 1500 m speed skating men|1500 m]] || '''1:54.79''' || January 19, 1980 || align=left| Davos
|-
|[[World record progression 10000 m speed skating men|10000 m]] || '''14:28.13''' || February 23, 1980 || align=left| [[James B. Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink|Lake Placid]]
|}

<ref name=SSStats>{{cite web |title=Eric Heiden |url=http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=skater&code=1958061401 |publisher=SpeedSkatingStats.com |access-date=August 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517231944/http://speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=skater&code=1958061401 |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Cycling===
After his speed-skating career Heiden became a professional cyclist.

====Track cycling====
As a track cyclist Heiden competed at the [[1981 UCI Track Cycling World Championships]] in [[Brno]], but was not successful. He finished 19th and last in the men's individual pursuit event.

==== Road bicycle racing ====
Heiden became a professional [[racing cyclist]]. He was one of the first cross-over athletes, becoming a founding member of the [[7-Eleven Cycling Team]]. Together with his former speed skating coach (and ex-bike racer), [[Jim Ochowicz]], he conceived of the idea of a European-style sponsored team for North American riders<ref>http://www.velonews.com.506 {{Dead link|date=March 2022}}</ref> Heiden won a few American professional races. He finished the 1985 Giro d'Italia and took part in the [[1986 Tour de France]], although he did not complete the race, crashing on a downhill stretch and suffering a concussion five days from the finish.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Heiden is believed to have recorded one of the fastest times at 14:10 (1986 or 1987) on one of the local benchmark climbs in [[Woodside, California]]: Old La Honda Road.<ref>[http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/training-world-class-racers-and-weekend-warriors-18649 Training World-class Racers And Weekend Warriors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329014638/http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/training-world-class-racers-and-weekend-warriors-18649 |date=March 29, 2009 }}. BikeRadar (2008-09-20). Retrieved on 2012-11-18.</ref> In 1985, Heiden won the first [[United States National Road Race Championships|U.S. Professional Cycling Championship]], becoming the American road race champion.

In 1999, Heiden was inducted into the [[United States Bicycling Hall of Fame]].