What attracted you to athletics?
“I started athletics when I was nine. Always had a sports-oriented youth from my home. And when I had to make a choice between tennis and athletics I opted for the diversity of athletics. That has always drawn me to this sport.”
What is your favourite discipline?
“Pole vaulting is my strongest discipline, number 8, and at the same time it is my joker. Although all the disciplines, from shot put to 1500 metres, give me a super-satisfied feeling.”
Which of your achievements of the past years still stands out in your memory?
“Gotzis, a small town in Austria, is a top-class tournament in athletics and in particular for all-around. 15,000 spectators are lined up in row after row to watch top athletics. I achieved second place twice there and I broke the Dutch record twice too. That is one of my many beautiful memories. But I had a less wonderful incident there too. In 2015, at the 10th hurdle, another athlete hit his hurdle and it ended up on my track. I got stuck in the hurdle and sustained a serious injury.”
What do injuries mean to you?
“Injuries always come at bad time. And when you have an injury, it is important not to give up but to focus on your recovery. I've said it before, and this may sound a bit crazy, but injuries also have benefits. They offer you the opportunity to work on your body and make progress. And I can enjoy that progress.”
Athletics requires imposing physical strain on your body, how do you deal with this?
“Every top-level sport is an attack on your body. Athletics, and certainly decathlon, is fierce, you actually overexploit your body in a couple of days. You cannot do an extensive warm-up for every discipline. That is why you work on having the strongest possible basic fitness, and you do that by training well, getting enough rest and the right nutrition.”
How do you get the most out of training?
“Training for the decathlon is definitely something special, because there are so many different disciplines. Jumping, sprinting, throwing or punching, and you are good at some and less good in others. You try to make the disciplines you are good at even better and to bring the less good ones up to standard. The training period lasts a year and the load comes in waves. You train for a tournament, take a moment to peak just before it, and then move on to preparation for the next tournament. This means a lot of training, building up a big base, taking a break and then peaking at the tournament.”
How have braces helped you?
“I see the use of a brace as providing the support the body needs, especially if you put a lot of strain on certain joints. It gives me a sense of safety, security and freedom to push my body. I use the patella and the elbow brace as well as the wrist support to have the right support for different disciplines. One thing I like is that you can put on the brace tightly before the exercise and take the tension off again afterwards.”