Mini Me vs. Older Self: Alkmaar City Run’25
That’s me; My older self vs. Little me, running like she had nothing to lose—and everything to prove. —untrained, but fiercely determined. Always in her soccer shoes or Allstars. Not because her parents couldn’t buy her the “right” gear. No, because she wanted to run like this. she didn’t care what she was wearing. She…
Ohhh it`s just a girl..
Girls in a Male-Dominated Sport: Stand Up, Believe in Yourself. Growing up, I was lucky to have parents who always encouraged me to play the sports I wanted to, no matter what others thought, no matter what sport, no matter how many sports and how much they had to travel/drive/cycle to bring me everywhere –…
FOMO: The Athlete’s Battle
Every athlete knows FOMO—the Fear of Missing Out. But not the kind people talk about when they miss a party or a night out. No, this is Sports FOMO. Missing a competition.Missing the perfect training session.Missing the chance to prove yourself—again and again. Because in sports, proving yourself never stops. There’s always someone training harder,…
Learning Tricks In Wingfoiling
….From Fear to Backflips Learning new tricks in wingfoiling—or any sport—can seem intimidating at first. A year ago, wingfoiling was still quite new to me. No tricks, just the basics I picked up from someone on the water. To be honest, I almost quit. The first few times were rough—the wind was never quite right,…
“Ben je gestopt?”
Wie de mist op het water kent — die ene ochtend dat je erop staat en niemand begrijpt waarom je niet traint — weet: de grootste storm zit soms binnenin.
Flippin’ Into 2025: A Year of Growth, Challenges, and New Beginnings
2024: A Year of Challenges, Growth, and New Adventures 31 december 2023 ended just as it should—on the water. My home lake served as the perfect backdrop for a last wingfoiling session of the year in thick wetsuit, wintergloves and shoes. It is where I set ambitious goals: mastering the backflip and the 360. No…
From Business suit to Wetsuit.
My Rollercoaster Journey from Top Sport to RA Studies to the other way around (and the Girl Who Couldn’t Iron) Most people know me as that girl in a wetsuit, always out on the water, kitesurfing or wingfoiling, with a deep passion for the snow, wind and waves – basically anything that keeps me connected…
We hebben je gemist op de spelen.
“We hebben je gemist op de spelen.” De Olympische Spelen zijn een droom voor velen, en voor mij was die droom heel dichtbij voor de tweede keer (ook heel bijzonder, nu ik dit zo opschrijf). Kitefoilen was mijn passie, mijn doel, en ik werkte er jarenlang keihard voor. Maar uiteindelijk stond ik daar niet, maar…
A race win / 5th place overall: The Wingfoiling Marathon World Cup & Round Texel 2024
Another one for in the books; the story line of events, world cups I didn’t train, don`t have the right gear (and was definitely not prepared) for. Yes, sometimes I do keep asking myself how I end up in situations like this… Anyway a week before I decided just to go with the flow and…
Athlete life: Expectation vs. Reality
Imagine two paths: one called expectation and another one called reality At the moment you are cruising along on the path of expectation. The perfectly straight road in between you and your goals, one nice smooth line without hurdles, bumps, roadblocks. It is an newly build highway, fresh tarmac and will get you fast and…
Is it time to set sail in a new direction?
The question I have been asking myself the past week, over and over again. And yes, it’s Time to Set Sail in a New Direction BUT in the same ocean. As I sit down to write this, it is the end of 2023, I find myself at a crossroads in my kitesurfing, Olympic kitefoiling, snowkiting…
Year of 2023: Life is a one-time offer live life to your fullest.
2023 embarked on a tumultuous yet inspiring journey, full of chaos and last minute decissions participating in various kitesurfing disciplines, world cups, encountering personal challenges that tested resilience, determination and perseverance. The year 2023 comes to an end pretty soon (at the moment of writing this). And got me thinking where did the year go?…
Round of Texel 2023: Beaten by technology or proud?
Let me tell you about the round of Texel 2023 last June. The round of Texel is a Dutch competition, for the last 45 years and growing. Originally it is a catamaran competition, one of the biggest in the world and if you participate you will know why. I have never seen so many catamarans …
The 2023 Sailing World Championship in The Netherlands, Scheveningen
The Sailing World Championship in The Netherlands are around the corner: 10 – 22 august 2023. In a few days the Sailing World Championships will start in Scheveningen, the Netherlands: 10 – 22 august 2023.. Its special that such a huge sailing event will take place in the Netherlands, my home country. What makes it…
Why I never leave home without saying goodbye: Christmas 2022
Why I never leave without saying a goodbye. (- and why you probably never got a reply on your happy new year, christmas or other message around 2022/2023..might got lost down the road of this story, like a lot more. But he this is life too.) …When I leave the Netherlands I always say goodbye,…
The Yar of Happines and Luck
The yar of happiness and luck. Yup, I am happy, really lucky, with a great passion – an amazing sport to life for (on the water and the snow), nice friendly people around, a loving family, a home, a nice van for the trips, trainings & competitions. Things are arranged well, the things I cannot…
Het blijft je bij!
You know all those things you`ve always wanted to do..? You should go and do them! De vraag waarom? Die krijg ik best vaak, het antwoord is simpel: Het blijft je bij! Ja, het blijft je bij, nee je wordt er niet rijk van. Dat is voor heel weinig weggelegd. Het gaat niet vanzelf, het is…
Individual European Championship Formula Kite – Puck, Poland 2020.
Individual European Championship Formula Kite (kitefoilen) – Puck, Poland, better know as seewead party. Keep hustling & Smile! .. & The story of the last race..? Let’s start at the beginning where I have to admit, in the first place I really didn’t want to go at all. I closed the door a bit and…
2022 Lepanto Open European Championship, Nafpaktos – Greece
Nothing to lose and all to gain! Guess what …?!? I drove down to Greece (!); all the way through Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo…. After a year without kitefoiling, just briefly picked it up again a few weeks before the Europeans. A dusty foil and some far away left behind skills…Not remembering the last competition I…
The dream of every polar bear!
Is it necessary? Do they have to? You make them do this? No, no & no. Cold? Yes of course. Is it fun YES, will I do it again YES, regrets? Not at all. Off course there have been moments I had to defrost my lines inside the mc Donald’s or another restaurant close by…
Acai in Nederland!
Jaaaa, we ontkomen er niet aan ook in Nederland kunnen we deze kleine donkerblauw tot paarse Acai bes / vrucht. Weliswaar niet zoals in brazili, peru of suriname groeiend in trossen aan de acai palm, maar wel in andere net zo lekkere en gezonde vormen, zoals; acai pulp, gedroogd acai poeder of een puree van de bevroren…
My passport is back in action
It took me a while to finish this one, I didn`t wanted it to be negative, neither sad nor a complain, excuse – just true. Unexpected situations happen, things end, people change … and you know what..?? Life goes on. So did I. Still the same goal, the same road – a bit bumped…
The 7 most annoying, yet funny disrupters in the gym.
The 7 most annoying, yet funny disrupters in the gym Lots of people I talk to, hate the gym… And to be honest I can`t really blame them. I personally do like the outside more, the freedom…nature, unexpected circumstances, beach, waves, wind… the space – adventure. But I had to admit that throwing some Iron…
Driven by Passion
Driven by Passion …brought with pleasure. “Passion is a love for the journey, drive is a need to reach a destination”. So where are you waiting for? Travel the world with me! And believe me I still need to reach a lot of destinations. My blog represents: From frozen to liquid water, still alive and sending it…
My fulltime job times 3
That’s my life and I am proudly living it. If it was easy everyone could do it: my Fulltime Job ^3. Topsport is a fulltime job in a fulltime working job in a fulltime student job. “yet sometimes I’m wondering more and more if it’s getting in the way of my performance. But yes, I…