{"id":960,"date":"2017-01-19T12:18:13","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T11:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=64875\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:05","slug":"derde-plaats-eur-judoka-op-dutch-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/01\/19\/derde-plaats-eur-judoka-op-dutch-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Third place for EUR judoka in Dutch Open"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarcel van de Kerkhof<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Medical student Mauk Moerman demonstrated last weekend that studying and taking part successfully in top-class sport can indeed go hand in hand. The student, from the province of Zeeland, won four rounds successively in the Dutch Open, held at the Indoor Sports Centre in Eindhoven. He was only finally beaten in the semi-finals of the Netherlands\u2019 largest international tournament. Moerman has mixed feelings about his performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the one hand I\u2019m very satisfied, but I could have done better,\u201d he feels. He lost ultimately to the Swiss entrant, Guillaume Pave. \u201cI could have beaten him, but I made a small mistake.\u201d Moerman did win in the consolation final. \u201cI was aiming to be champion, but I\u2019m also happy with a bronze,\u201d decided the former Dutch under-18 champion.<\/p>\n

University studies<\/h3>

There\u2019s absolutely no problem in pursuing academic studies while also taking part in top-class sport, notes the 19-year-old. \u201cIt works well, as long as you keep up with it all.\u201d That\u2019s why Moerman plans attending lectures and completing assignments around his training duties.<\/p>\n

Moerman: \u201cOn weekdays I have lectures in the mornings and afternoons, and two hours of training in the evenings. Generally I then have to spend time on my studies.\u201d There\u2019s usually no place for the typical student weekday drinks and parties for Moerman. \u201cThat\u2019s part of it, and it\u2019s my own choice. Going out is great, but my main focus is my sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mauk Moerman (tweede van rechts) met mede-medaillewinnaars Jahiane Ginga (r), Guillaume Pave (l) en Guillaume Blanchard.<\/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\tMarcel van de Kerkhof<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Olympic dream<\/h3>

Born in the city of Goes in the south-western Netherlands, Moerman grew up in the top-class sporting world. His father is a judo teacher at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. \u201cI started straight away with judo when I had to get my swimming diplomas. I was pretty much brought up on the sport,\u201d recalls the first-year student.<\/p>\n

Someone who is used to combining top-class sport at the very highest level, with studying medicine, is Olympic gold-medallist and world-champion Dutch gymnast Epke Zonderland. \u201cEpke has been a source of inspiration to me, even though he practises a different sport.\u201d Moerman dreams of following Zonderland\u2019s example by winning a gold at the Olympic Games. \u201cI\u2019m doing everything I can to make my Olympic dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

More top athletes at EUR<\/h2>