{"id":161686,"date":"2023-11-24T12:16:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T11:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=161686"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:04","slug":"the-wheel-is-her-world-marinde-smolders-returns-from-a-double-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/11\/24\/the-wheel-is-her-world-marinde-smolders-returns-from-a-double-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"The wheel is her world: Marinde Smolders returns from a double injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite Psychology student Marinde Smolders being a professional wheel gymnast, many people have no idea what her sport is about. Initially starting off as a regular gymnast, Marinde eventually realised she had a passion for a \u2018big hamster wheel\u2019.<\/p>\n

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Marinde Smolders.<\/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\tKim Casamitjana<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Marinde Smolders (23) is one of many elite athletes studying at EUR. The sport she devotes 25 hours a week to is practiced by a few dozen competitive wheel gymnasts across the Netherlands on a professional basis. From her beginnings in the sport to her first upcoming competition since recovering from a devastating double injury, Marinde talks about her journey.<\/p>\n

Wheel gymnastics<\/h2>

Originating in Germany, wheel gymnastics (rh\u00f6nrad<\/em> in German and Dutch) is a form of non-Olympic gymnastics performed with a large hoop. While the gymnast makes the wheel move, they perform various choreographies which Marinde describes as \u2018gravity-defying tricks\u2019. These types of gymnastics are typically seen in circuses or non-competitive sport display events. Marinde, however, is one of the few athletes in the country to train and perform the sport at the highest level, participating in regional, European, and World championships.<\/p>\n

Third place<\/h2>

Her family doesn\u2019t have a sports background, but Marinde took up regular gymnastics already at the age of 5. Only seven years later, however, she decided to quit gymnastics altogether, due to knee injuries and losing interest in the sport. She quickly realised that she wanted to continue sports after having a \u2018whole summer vacation of not being able to sit still and just jumping around the house\u2019. So she took beginners classes in wheel gymnastics, which she saw at a show a few years before and was captivated by it. Although wheel gymnastics requires a lot of flexibility and core strength, she first took classes for fun.<\/p>\n

Her first coach, who she considers her \u2018role model\u2019, initially discovered her talent and persuaded Marinde to train for tournaments. Marinde participated in various competitions and won medals, but her third-place finish at her World Championship debut in 2018 was an eye-opener for her. \u201cI placed first in the qualifications and then in the final I placed third. Once I stood on the podium, I was like, \u2018wait, maybe I really have something for the sport.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Marinde in her 'big hamster wheel'.<\/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\tKim Casamitjana<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Somersaults<\/h2>

The sport has to deal with misconceptions, given its niche status. \u201cWhen you say \u2018wheel gymnastics\u2019, it doesn\u2019t ring any bells. But once you say \u2018I\u2019m inside a big hamster wheel\u2019, they remember they saw it on television once\u201d, she says. Although Marinde explains that it\u2019s also a competitive sport, most people think wheel gymnastics is something they could casually try by themselves.<\/p>\n

According to Marinde, people also get confused by the nature of the sport. \u201cSometimes people go \u2018oh, so you\u2019re not a real gymnast, so you can\u2019t do any somersaults\u2019. But we do the same tricks, the same somersaults, just to a smaller extent\u201d, Marinde reveals.<\/p>\n

Intertwining<\/h2>\n\t
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