{"id":110680,"date":"2020-03-11T17:17:49","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T16:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=110680"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:44","slug":"em-is-following-five-students-in-the-run-up-to-the-2020-tokyo-olympics-part-4-rower-marieke-keijser-will-only-settle-for-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/03\/11\/em-is-following-five-students-in-the-run-up-to-the-2020-tokyo-olympics-part-4-rower-marieke-keijser-will-only-settle-for-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"On the road to Tokyo: rower Marieke Keijser will only settle for gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many of us, the Olympics are something we look forward to watching on TV every four years. But for four students, the upcoming edition means a lot more. They\u2019ve scrawled \u2018Tokyo 2020\u2019 on their calendars years ago and hope to resume their studies after the summer with an Olympic medal. Over the next few months, we will be following them as they prepare for the Games. In this instalment: rower Marieke Keijser.<\/p>\n

\"\"

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u2018Here\u2019 and \u2018there\u2019. Two words that keep popping up when rower Marieke Keijser (22) talks with us about her Olympic year. \u2018Here\u2019 is Amsterdam, the city where she has been living since the beginning of last year \u2013 and where she trains six days a week in and around the Olympic Training Centre of the Royal Dutch Rowing Union (KNRB) at the Amsterdamse Bos. \u2018There\u2019 is Rotterdam: the city that she heads off to as soon as possible on Saturday afternoons after training and where virtually all her family and friends still live. \u201cI moved here January last year \u2013 18 months before the Games,\u201d says Keijser as we talk in the centre\u2019s study room. \u201cOver the winter, it\u2019s still relatively easy to train on your own. But in the run-up to the head race season, you train here most of the time \u2013 and you do more rowing with your partner too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018I\u2019m still the odd one out\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Nevertheless, living in the Dutch capital still takes some getting used to. Because there\u2019s a reason why Keijser distinguishes between \u2018here\u2019 and \u2018there\u2019. When we ask whether she likes her new home, we get a big grin in response: \u201cI really miss Rotterdam. Amsterdam is definitely a nice place to live \u2013 it\u2019s just that I like Rotterdam so much. And it\u2019s so busy here. I used to think I was exaggerating. But I\u2019ve been living here for a year now, so I feel I\u2019m allowed to say I\u2019m trying. And it\u2019s working out, but it doesn\u2019t feel the same. I\u2019m still the odd one out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Worth fighting <\/h2>

Still: all things considered, she doesn\u2019t regret her move for a moment. Because Keijser has a very clear idea of what she\u2019s doing it for: gold in the lightweight double sculls at the upcoming Olympics. Together with Ilse Paulis, who won the same competition four years ago with a different rowing mate, she plans to make this dream reality in Tokyo. \u201cYes, ultimately I think I can only settle for gold. But my coach put it nicely once: \u2018We\u2019re going for gold, but every Olympic medal is worth fighting for.\u2019 That needs to be my flow this year, but everyone wants to end first. And I\u2019ve already won quite a few other titles, so I\u2019d really like to get the gold this time. I want to feel satisfied when I cross the finishing line. And to be honest: this does depend to a large extent on the colour of the medal,\u201d she says with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018I want to feel satisfied when I cross the finishing line. And to be honest: this does depend to a large extent on the colour of the medal\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Looking at the rower\u2019s tally, she must have had quite a few satisfied finishes already. She has not only taken home silver and bronze at the World Championships with Paulis; she has also earned two world championships by herself. Before climbing into a scull with the Olympic champion in early 2017, she spent years rowing solo at championship level. Competing in a different boat class took some getting used to. \u201cIt\u2019s not more or less enjoyable than what I used to do \u2013 it\u2019s different more than anything. It\u2019s a team sport. You use the same sculling technique, but that\u2019s where the similarities end. For example, it\u2019s difficult not to put or take something personally when the two of you are working together in a boat. That was really difficult for me those first six months.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Semi-final of Death <\/h2>

By now Keijser has fully adapted to her new circumstances. The most tangible proof of the progress she has made \u2013 in addition to the two world championships the duo already have under their belts \u2013 is a ticket to the Summer Olympics. \u201cI remember it clear as day. Usually when you\u2019re rowing, you\u2019re working towards a place in the finals. But during the last World Championships, everyone who made the top 3 during the semi-finals would have a ticket waiting for them. You could feel the tension all over the hotel. Normally speaking, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife before the finals. This time round, it was as early as the semis.\u201d The Semi-final of Death is how Keijser refers to it. \u201cIt felt so tense \u2013 all I could think of was, \u2018I need to do my own thing\u2019. After a semi like that, the wave of relief that washes over you is really weird. I can remember feeling incredibly happy. Everyone says: \u2018the Games this; the Games that\u2019. And you train really hard to get there. But from that point on, I could tell people: \u2018I\u2019ll be rowing in the Olympics\u2019. Which felt quite bizarre.\u201d<\/p>\n

But of course, it didn\u2019t take long for that feeling to subside. Because not only will Keizer and her rowing mate be asking a lot from themselves in Tokyo; their past achievements mean that they have to deal with sky-high expectations from others. \u201cWe\u2019re definitely in the public eye as a crew. And of course Ilse has already won an Olympic championship. So if we don\u2019t win, we\u2019ll have automatically lost in many people\u2019s eyes. And if we do win, we\u2019ll have realised our goals. So I think we have to keep things simple for ourselves: go for gold so we don\u2019t have to deal with a lot of nonsense afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Interestingly, there\u2019s still a small chance that Keijser will see her Olympic dream scuttled. Because the ticket won by the crew is actually assigned to the boat rather than the rowers themselves. Their names have not yet been entered on the Olympic roster. \u201cIt\u2019s only when you\u2019ve rowed out to the starting line that you\u2019re truly sure of competing. We\u2019ll be taking the current reserve crew to Spain to train together. But the national coach has assured us: \u2018I\u2019ll tell you in time if I want to change things around\u2019. So I may not have 100% certainty, but if I keep my head on straight I know I can come a long way. And I shouldn\u2019t be more modest than I have to be. While it\u2019s true that I used to row on my own, back then I had to prove myself every time round too.\u201d<\/p>\n

100,000 hours of training<\/h2>

And for the time being, whether or not she\u2019s guaranteed a ticket doesn\u2019t make much of a difference for her schedule. Over the next few months, Keijser\u2019s focus will be squarely in Tokyo. The road to the Games may still be long, but the rower has already charted each step of her journey. \u201cI have every aspect of my schedule in the months ahead in my inbox, and it doesn\u2019t include much room for surprises. Since mid-January it has basically been \u2018training abroad, home for a week, training abroad, home for a week\u2019.\u201d On the one hand she likes that kind of clarity, but she can also find it unsettling. \u201cIt was particularly heavy to see just how few nights we\u2019ll be sleeping in our own beds this year. But on the other hand it is nice to know: \u2018This is the deal\u2019. Everything has been thought out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keijser\u2019s busy schedule means that for some time now, she hasn\u2019t had any opportunity to study. After moving to Amsterdam and almost simultaneously passing the first year of her Health Policy Management degree programme, she has regretfully been forced to put her studies on hold for the time being. \u201cSure, as a student it can be tough when you both have to put in 100,000 hours of training and sit exams. But now that I\u2019ve put it on the back burner for a while, I often think: everyone\u2019s making something of themselves, and all I do is move around from one place to the other. Which makes me feel as if my life is on hold, and I\u2019m no longer a full member of society. That can feel very oppressive. So I actually rather look forward to starting again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Not surprisingly, the first weeks of September are marked with a big red circle in her calendar. That\u2019s when she\u2019ll be starting on the second year of her programme \u2013 whatever the outcome in Japan. Although she\u2019d definitely like to start it with a gold medal around her neck. \u201cYes, I\u2019m really looking forward to what this year will bring, but I\u2019m also happy when a cycle like this has run its course. I tremendously enjoy rowing and I\u2019d like to keep doing it forever. But it\u2019s incredibly intense too at this level \u2013 I don\u2019t know if I could take another decade. I\u2019ll keep going for as long as I enjoy it. But after the Games, I may want to spend a year recharging in Rotterdam. Or two perhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t