THE HAGUE, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Former Dutch Olympic figure skating champion Sjoukje Dijkstra has died at the age of 82, her family announced on Thursday.

Born in 1942 in Akkrum, Friesland, Dijkstra brought the Netherlands its first-ever gold medal in the Winter Olympics during the 1964 games in Innsbruck, Austria.

Over the course of her illustrious career, she dominated the sport, securing six Dutch national titles from 1959 to 1964, five consecutive European championships from 1960 to 1964, and three world titles from 1962 to 1964.

Dijkstra made her Olympic debut at just 14 years old at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, where she placed 12th. She continued to excel, winning a silver medal at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley before achieving her crowning moment in 1964 with the Olympic gold. Enditem

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