For 15 years I competed at all major judo championships.
I have won among others five European titles and three
Olympic medals, of which the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic
Games is my best result.

I started judo when I was four years old in Vlaardingen,
the Netherlands. At the age of sixteen I realized I wanted
to become the best. Since then I lived a life of judo for
twenty years.
From 1994 untill 2008 I competed in all the major
tournaments; World Cups, European championships, World
championships and Olympic Games.

After the 2008 Beijing Olympics I retired from competition
as the reigning European champion.

Olympic champion 2000
Bronze medal Olympic Games 2004
Bronze medal Olympic Games 1996
Bronze medal World Championships 2005
5 times European champion (1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2008)
2 times European champion by teams (1996, 1997)
8 times military world champion (1997-2001, 2003-2005)
14 times Dutch National champion
13 times winner of a (Super) World Cup
winner Tournoi de Paris 2002
winner Kano Cup 1999
My 14 Dutch national titles:
10 times men -86kg/-90kg
2 times open weight
1 time under 21 years
1 time under 18 years
1 time Dutch National champion by teams under 21 years
1 time Dutch National champion by teams under 18 years
Click here to see a complete list of my results
(in Dutch)

European judoka of the year in 1998 and 2000
12 medals at European championships in entering 14 times
(1994-2008)
3 medals at European championships by teams (1997-1999)
10 years in a row in the final of the military world
championships
32 World Cups medals
17 World Cup medals in a row (always winning a medal for 7
years)
4-time competitor at Olympic Games (1996, 2000, 2004,
2008)
unbeaten in ne-waza (ground judo) for the last 13 years of
my career
I never lost with a strangle, I lost with an armlock once (age 16) |