My first Olympics memory recalls back to when I was 6 years of age. On a summer holiday, sitting inside our holiday home on a rainy day, and seeing 8 giant guys in a rowing boat winning a golden medal. Maybe we had been rowing ourself, although sailing was a more likely option, or it was the only Dutch gold medal (it wasn’t), it got stuck in my 6 year old brain. The next day, with plenty of puddles because of the typical rainy summer in the Netherlands (well, before climate change), my brother and I were digging small canals and organising our own Olympic ‘mud’-Games. Since then, i have been watching any Olympic event within my possibility, calling in sick for school at age 10, or watching on TV, double screening the PC and watching at my smartphone at the same time in 2016 because nowadays you can watch so many interesting events at the same time.

Recently, one of my physiotherapists, Michael Davidson (ManualFysion, Amsterdam) was a member of the Ghanees delegation participating in the 2018 Games, and trough him, I got an inside look into everything all-Olympic, entering the stadium, the Olympic villages, the waiting and the parties. Even at age 62, an Olympic dream became reality.

Being 6 years of age, or 62, and many kids of different ages that I had the opportunity to aid in their development as young athletes. My ambition is to make Olympic dreams become reality. And hopefully, one day I can say that (at least a part of) such a medal is mine.