{"id":127576,"date":"2021-06-02T15:02:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T13:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=127576"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:40","slug":"i-dont-want-to-let-myself-down-my-plan-is-to-simply-row-as-hard-as-i-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/06\/02\/i-dont-want-to-let-myself-down-my-plan-is-to-simply-row-as-hard-as-i-can\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I don\u2019t want to let myself down: my plan is to simply row as hard as I can\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

After months of delays, uncertainty and, above all, loads of training, the moment of truth has come for rower Amber Meulenbeld. In Italy, she and her team mates will be competing for one of the two tickets remaining for this year\u2019s Paralympic Games in Tokyo. During one of the final training sessions before she leaves for Italy, Meulenbeld looks back on her weird and wonderful journey so far.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Amber Meulenbeld (middle) during a training.<\/span><\/p>

\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>

\u201cThat hailstorm halfway-through wasn\u2019t very nice.\u201d In just over a week, Meulenbeld will be lining up at the Paralympic Qualifiers (PQ) in Italy, but the weather on the Bosbaan could hardly be called Mediterranean. There\u2019s a chill wind out on the over 2-km long rowing course, where Meulenbeld is making her final preparations for the all-important regatta. And at the end of her training \u2013 punctuated by several wintry showers \u2013 she actually has to go outside again due to Covid restrictions. At the Olympic rowing centre, they\u2019re doing their best to keep the teams in a bubble, meaning that visitors aren\u2019t allowed inside. Which means our interview with Meulenbeld is taking place on the stands, looking out over the water. Come rain or shine.<\/p>\n

Indispensable<\/h2>
\"\"\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><\/div>

Rowing, studying \u2013 and above all, lots of rest. That\u2019s basically what the past few weeks have looked like for the Paralympic rower. She\u2019s done everything she can to make sure she can score one of the last remaining tickets for Tokyo. For the moment, this can be seen as the final leg of her bizarre journey over the past few years. Meulenbeld first climbed into a rowboat in late 2018. She takes to it like a duck to water, and within a few months she is already being introduced to the Paralympic team. Things quickly pick up pace after that. She lands a spot in the mixed coxed four, and she and her team are determined to qualify for the Games in Japan.<\/p>\n

Then Covid throws a spanner in the works for Meulenbeld and her team members. But in a way, having to wait an extra year wasn\u2019t all bad news, she says: \u201cIf the PQ had gone ahead last year, it would have been my first regatta. Since then, I\u2019ve competed in two European Championships, so I\u2019ve gained slightly more experience in the meantime.\u201d With \u2018slightly\u2019 being the operative word, because you don\u2019t often see an athlete battling for an Olympic ticket in his or her third regatta. Still, Meulenbeld tries to maintain the same attitude she has taken throughout her Paralympic adventure so far: focus on the positive. \u201cThe regatta will be held on the same lake as the recent European championships \u2013 just a bit further down. So I\u2019m somewhat familiar with the water there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still: as an advantage it\u2019s not much to speak of, due to her visual impairment. Regardless of where she\u2019s rowing, she doesn\u2019t see much more than her team member sitting in front of her. \u201cPoints of reference are generally quite important, I guess \u2013 that\u2019s something I have to make do without. The coxswain (the non-rower who steers the boat, Eds.) often tells us how long we have left.\u201d On the Bosbaan, the cox\u2019s directions can be clearly heard thanks to the megaphone installed on the boat. Just as well for the rowers, since the coxswain is the only one who actually sits facing the finishing line. And for Meulenbeld, the cox is even more indispensable, since she is the only rower in the boat with a visual impairment.<\/p>\n

Unknown rivals<\/h2>
\"\"\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><\/div>

The Dutch team has since departed for Italy. A few days of training and getting to know the water and then, at the end of the week, it\u2019s show time. If they manage to get through the qualifiers, the team\u2019s grand finale will be on Saturday. In her mind\u2019s eye, Meulenbeld has already rowed this course countless times. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the exercises our coach has set for us. I mainly focus on small parts of the race. For example: what should I do if there are boats in front of us? Although I try not to dwell too long on contingencies like that, because they might end up becoming true.\u201d Nor does she dare to think too much about actually qualifying for Tokyo. \u201cI don\u2019t want to let myself down. My plan is to simply row as hard as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

One thing that makes preparing extra complicated for the Paralympic rowers is that they only hear at a very late stage whom they\u2019ll be competing against. That may sound strange for a regatta that has so much hinging on it, but it actually happens quite often in this branch of sports, according to Meulenbeld. She shows us a ritual that she must have repeated dozens of times over the past few weeks: opening the PQ website on her mobile to check whether the starting order has been published yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done this so often \u2013 more or less daily. For example, some European countries didn\u2019t actually take part in the recent Championships. So you start thinking: will they be showing up in Italy then \u2013 have they been saving their strength?\u201d Incidentally, there are other sources besides the regatta website that she visits during this ritual. \u201cI also check social media. Maybe someone posted something there? For example, there may be an update about a team splitting up for whatever reason \u2013 meaning they won\u2019t be competing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Never seen a live race<\/h2>

All this tension. According to Meulenbeld, compared to the past 18 months, these final days before the PQ can hardly be called enjoyable. \u201cMore than anything, they sap your energy \u2013 energy I\u2019d prefer to spend on rowing. It\u2019s all part of the game and you need to learn how to deal with it, but it\u2019s tough nevertheless.\u201d Still, all things considered, she\u2019s looking forward to this weekend. After all, it will be the culmination of a lot of sacrifices made over the past few months, as well as a gruelling training programme.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s aware that there are some extenuating circumstances should her boat fail to qualify. \u201cI know I haven\u2019t been on this team very long yet, and that I don\u2019t have a lot of rowing experience. Still, I think I\u2019ll feel quite sad if it doesn\u2019t work out. It\u2019s an ambitious goal, but if we succeed\u2026\u201d If they do qualify, Meulenbeld will have to celebrate it with her team and no one else. Covid restrictions mean that family members were forced to stay home. \u201cThat\u2019s a pity \u2013 particularly for my parents and my boyfriend. Due to the pandemic, he has never even seen me compete in a live race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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

Read more about Amber<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t