Track Beauty of the Week: Denise Groot

Denise Groot is this week's Track Beauty!

Photo from Erik van Leeuwen

Groot is a pole vaulter from the Netherlands. Coached by George Friant and 2005 World Champion Rens Blom, Denise has been a consistent 4.00m vaulter since 2007.[1] Groot had a sterling career in age-group competition. While still only a youth athlete, Denise won a silver medal in the Dutch National Championships in 2007, clearing a height of 3.61m.[2] She followed this up with another silver medal, soaring over 3.90m in the European Youth Olympic Festival the same year.[3]

She has improved consistently in the successive years. In 2010, Groot set a new personal best of 4.35m - only five centimeters from the Monique de Wilt's Dutch national record.[4] To date, she has won a total of two Dutch outdoor titles on top of single national indoor crown. The Dutch pole vaulter placed seventh at the 2011 edition of the European U23 Championships, where she had a best mark of 4.20m. [5]

The year 2010 should have been Groot's breakout season, having qualified for the European Championships in Barcelona. However, the prodigious young talent fell short of expectations. She could only better 4.05m, thirty centimeters from the lifetime best she set earlier that year.[6]

References

1. "Denise Groot." http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Groot. Retrieved 2-6-2013.
2. Ibid. 
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.

Track Beauty of the Week: Marije Smits

Marije Smits is this week's Track Beauty!

In honor of the ongoing Paralympic Games in London, it is apt to select a talented, differently-abled athlete as Track Beauty.

Marije Smits. (Photo from Helene Wiesenhaan)

Read: "The Paralympic Athletes" 

Smits is a long jumper and sprinter from the Netherlands. The 25-year old has extensive experience in international-level events. She made her debut in the Paralympics in 2004. [1] Since then she has competed in two editions of the European Championships (2005 and 2012), the World Championships (2006), and the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. [2] 

London is her third appearance at the prestigious quadrennial event.

The 2003 European U20 long jump champion notched a significant victory last year, when she won the World Cup long jump silver medal in Christchurch, New Zealand. [3] She currently has personal bests of 3.73m in the long jump and 17.71s in the 100m dash.

Fourteen years ago, Marije's right leg was amputated above the knee because of cancer. [4] Four years later, Smits won her first gold medal at a regional-level competition in Lille, France. [5]

______________

1. "Marije Smits." Wikipedia, 21 August 2012. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marije_Smits (25 August 2012).
2. Ibid.
3. "Dutch Parathletics Team A-selectie Marije Smit." Topatletiek, 25 June 2012. http://www.atletiekunie.nl/index.php?page=18&profileitem=218 (25 August 2012).
4. "Marije Smits."
5. Ibid.

The Netherlands Olympic Hockey Team

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word hockey is the movie "The Mighty Ducks." Ice hockey, thanks to pop culture, is a more familiar subject. I must admit that the first time I saw its summer sport variant played on TV, I felt indifferent. 

Then the Dutch Women's Olympic Hockey Team took center stage in London.

They are more than just eye-candies, mind you. Women from the Netherlands have won eight out of the ten European Championship titles since 1984. Since the sport was introduced in the Olympics in 1984, the Netherlands topped the coveted podium thrice (1984, 2008, and 2012), on top of its lone silver medal (2004) and three bronzes (1988, 1996, and 2000),

The ladies' performance on the field more than measured up to their popularity in London, as they successfully defended their Olympic golds, blanking their Argentine opponents 2-0. 

The London Olympics Netherlands Hockey Team:

Kitty van Male
Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel
Kelly Jonker
Maartje Goderie
Lidewij Welten
Maartje Paumen
Naomi van As
Ellen Hoog
Sophie Polkamp
Joyce Sombroek
Kim Lammers
Eva de Goede
Marilyn Agliotti
Merel de Blaeij
Margot van Geffen
Caia van Maasakker

Additional Videos:

Match highlights vs. Belgium (London 2012)

Photo and video montage (London 2012)

Source: 

Wikipedia

Annette Gerritsen (NED, Speed Skating)

As a former sprint hurdler, I'm attracted to sports that showcase natural speed. Having lived in a tropical country all my life, the winter sports is a foreign concept (perhaps because of the Mighty Ducks series I've watched as a kid) Speed skating is an interesting discipline. The prospect of going all out on an ice track wearing those razor-sharp skates is a fascinating thought.

Gerritsen in full speed. (Photo from UweFan)

Annette Gerritsen is an elite speed skater. The Dutchwoman is a former World Junior record holder in the 500m, with a time of 38.57s. Gerritsen is a veteran of many international campaigns, having won medals at the world's highest stage, when she snared the silver at the 1000m at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. 

In two editions of the World Sprint Championships, Annette had brought home a bronze (2008) and a silver (2011). Likewise, she reached the podium for both the 500m and the 1000m at the World Single Distance Championships in 2008.

Gerritsen immediately made an impact upon turning professional in 2005.That same year, she won bronze medals at national level championships. Her performances earned her a ticket to the World Sprint Championships, her first ever appearance at a major international.

Source:
Annette's Wikipedia Profile