Biography

In 1968 Heerenveen moved from Curaçao to the Netherlands to study at the Technical College in Zwolle. He then played volleyball and some baseball. While studying in the Netherlands Heerenveen married a Dutch woman and consequently was granted permission to remain in the country until 1975. In 1971 he started training in athletics and ran 100 m in 10.9 s. Already by 1973 he was selected for the 60 m event at the European Championships.

In 1974 he won the national title in the 60 m and 200 m and finished second in the 100 m. The same year, he was part of the Dutch 4 × 400 m relay team that finished fifth at the European Championships. In 1975 he won a national title in the 50 m event, which was held only once in the Dutch history, and set a new national record in the 400 m (46.33 s).

After leaving the Netherlands in 1975, Heerenveen competed for the Netherlands Antilles at the 1976 Summer Olympics and 1975 Pan American Games, where he finished seventh in the 200 m. Since 1977 he was allowed to train and compete in the Netherlands, and already in the next year he won three national sprint titles. He planned to compete for the Netherlands at the 1980 Summer Olympics, and was selected for the national 4 × 400 m relay team, but had to withdraw due to the rule set by the International Olympic Committee. The rule stated that an athlete may not compete for two different countries in the consecutive Games.

In 1981, after losing the 60 m, 100 m and 200 m Dutch titles (he finished in second-third place in all events), Heerenveen retired from competitions to focus on his family and two daughters. For the next 16 years he worked as electrical engineer in the Netherlands.

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