{"id":107778,"date":"2020-01-07T15:38:16","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T14:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=107778"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:38","slug":"on-the-way-to-tokyo-the-sporting-career-of-para-rower-amber-is-on-the-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/01\/07\/on-the-way-to-tokyo-the-sporting-career-of-para-rower-amber-is-on-the-up\/","title":{"rendered":"On the road to Tokyo: The sporting career of para-rower Amber is on the up"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Olympic Games. For many people, a TV event to look forward to every four years. But for four students, the upcoming Games are much more than that. They have highlighted Tokyo 2020 in their diaries and after the summer hope to resume their studies with a medal around their necks. Over the coming months, Erasmus Magazine<\/em> will be following their journey to the Games. In the first edition: Paralympic rower Amber Meulenbeld.<\/p>\n

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Climbing, tennis, gymnastics and running. Until two years ago, these are just some of the sports that Amber Meulenbeld (20, research master Health Sciences at Erasmus MC) used to enjoy. Not at Olympic level, but with enormous passion. Until one morning she woke up with a banging headache. Familiar to many students, but this time it felt different. \u201cThe pain didn\u2019t go away, and my vision was distorted.\u201d After many consultations, the student ended up with a neurologist who solved the mystery. \u201cHe diagnosed a brain disorder. The disorder was eventually quickly resolved, but I\u2019ve been left with a permanent impairment. My optic nerve doesn\u2019t work anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Double vision and loss of focus<\/h2>

At a table in the Erasmus MC caf\u00e9, Meulenbeld talks about that period just as easily as she previously discussed the decor of the same caf\u00e9. Even now, she\u2019s still smiling. But the doctor\u2019s diagnosis changed her life for ever. \u201cI only see 20 of the 180 degrees that a normal person sees. And I can\u2019t distinguish much from what I do see. I have blurred distance vision and I see double close up.\u201d<\/p>\n

She illustrates her handicap by describing the interviewer, who\u2019s only sitting a metre away. \u201cI can see you, but not where your eyes are. And I see two versions of you, so I don\u2019t know where you\u2019re really sitting. You\u2019re wearing a green jumper.\u201d Despite finding the cause of her symptoms, the neurologist couldn\u2019t answer all of Meulenbeld\u2019s questions. \u201cWhy it happened isn\u2019t clear, but the damage is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Dark<\/h2>

Instead of bemoaning her fate, she\u2019s trying to make the best of her situation. The first challenge: her studies. As a second-year student at Leiden University College, she would probably have had to take a step back. But Meulenbeld had other ideas. \u201cI finished my studies on time. Obviously, things were easier before, and I used to get higher marks faster, but I got there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then challenge number two: sport. Because as she admits, the sports that she used to do are \u2018not really suitable\u2019. \u201cMy idea was: choose something that doesn\u2019t need me to use my eyes so much. Somehow, rowing seemed like a good sport. And fun too, because many students do it.\u201d And yes, it\u2019s fun, but in practice rowing with a visual impairment is harder than she expected. \u201cIf you\u2019re good at it, you don\u2019t need your eyes very much. But when you\u2019re just starting out, it\u2019s much harder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018My idea was: choose something that doesn\u2019t need me to use my eyes so much. Somehow, rowing seemed like a good sport.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Meulenbeld won\u2019t forget the first time she stepped into the boat, now over a year ago. \u201cThat was in the dark. Not such a good idea. But I don\u2019t think I did any worse than other first-time rowers. I didn\u2019t stand out too much in the boat. It was scary, but mainly everything involved in rowing took some getting used to. Getting into the boat, for example. I enjoyed it from the start. The fun and the team spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paralympic team<\/h2>

After a few months, she got in touch with the rowing federation to see if they could help with the practical problems. \u201cI can row with able-bodied students, but everything else involved in rowing is much harder for me. Just putting a boat in the water, for example. Or getting into the boat.\u201d But she also needs to make the necessary adaptations in her rowing compared with the other rowers in the club. \u201cIt\u2019s important that you all make the same movement at the same time. Some people do this based on their sight, because it\u2019s easy to see what the person in front of you is doing. Because I can\u2019t see that, I have to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Someone from the federation soon called back, but not the person she was expecting. \u201cIt was the assistant coach from the Paralympic team. Asking whether I\u2019d like to meet up, because they\u2019d be happy to help me.\u201d After that, the student trained more and more often at the rowing federation training centre in Amsterdam. After several months, the assistant coach asked whether she\u2019d be willing to join in a training session with the Paralympic team. \u201cThere isn\u2019t a very large pool of people who are eligible to row in this category, so they\u2019re always looking for people. What did I say? \u2018I\u2019d like to, but I\u2019m not very good.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Special category<\/h2>

However, she was soon proved wrong. The training sessions went so well that at the end of this summer she was asked to be a permanent member of the Paralympic coxed four team to compete for the medals in Tokyo. Meulenbeld and her fellow team members are in a special category. For example, the teams are mixed in several ways. \u201cWe have men and women in the boat, and the team members have both visual and physical impairments. However, in each boat of four, only half the crew may have a visual impairment, otherwise there would be too much of an advantage. I can obviously use my whole body.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This autumn, the team of six rowers embarked on the \u2018Paralympic journey\u2019. Over the coming months, it will be decided who will be used as reserves and which four rowers will compete for qualification for Tokyo. \u201cThe first opportunity was during the World Championships at the beginning of September. Unfortunately, they didn\u2019t manage it, although I wasn\u2019t in the boat myself. The next opportunity is at the end of April, which is also the last chance to qualify. That\u2019s where we have to do it. When I think of that moment, it\u2019s quite nerve-wracking. But we\u2019ve got some time to prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unexpected passion<\/h2>

The sporting career of para-rower Amber is on the up. To illustrate: while her team members were trying to qualify for Tokyo this summer, the rower was at home because the investigations into whether her handicap is real had not been completed. \u201cPeople sometimes say that it\u2019s easy to get into a Paralympic team because there aren\u2019t so many competitors. It\u2019s not regarded as a worthy counterpart of normal sport. But I know how much time, effort and energy I put into this sport. You need to be at a high level to take part in international sport. And as an athlete with an impairment, my daily life also takes a lot of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018It\u2019s unexpected, but I\u2019ve really found my passion in rowing.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The coming months are very busy for the rower. Besides her master\u2019s degree at Erasmus MC, she is also doing a master\u2019s degree in Utrecht and she trains nine times a week. \u201cAt the moment, it\u2019s all great fun. But when I think of the future, it\u2019ll be hard. If more training sessions are planned or I need to be in Amsterdam, I may have to put my studies on the back burner for a while. But I think that everyone is prepared to make sacrifices for an Olympic medal. I\u2019m looking forward to it. It\u2019s unexpected, but I\u2019ve really found my passion in rowing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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