During the summer Klaas Vriend worked on his father’s cauliflower farm and skated on the ice during the winter. As a speed skater Vriend specialised in the long-distance events, winning bronze at the Dutch All-round Championships in 1977 and 1979. Between 1972 and 1981 he also competed at five editions of the European Championships and four editions of the World Championships. In 1976 Vriend was selected to skate at the Innsbruck Olympics, but was unable to compete due to illness. By the mid-1980s he had moved up to marathon skating competing in the Elfstedentocht long-distance event in 1985.
Netherlands