The iconic Olympic circles on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Photo Hethers / Shutterstock.com She is on the rise. WUR student Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning Sofie Dokter (21) joins the Olympics in Paris this summer to compete in the heptathlon.
The hundred-metre hurdles, high jump, shot put, two-hundred-metre dash, long jump, javelin and eight-hundred-metre run. These seven events will take place over two days. Each is to be completed as fast, high or far as possible. Sofie Dokter can deliver.
Heptathlon
‘I learned about two weeks ago that I have been selected for the Olympics’, Dokter explains. ‘I managed to qualify through the global ranking, in which I take 24th place. I was already doing well at the start of this season, but I did not want to count on it too much as much can happen, and other good athletes were still accruing points for the ranking.’
‘My parents practised athletics when I was young, so, as a girl, I wanted to try it. Young children in athletics always do heptathlons. They explore the different events that the sport is made up of. It soon became clear that I was rather good at it. I won a few small competitions, which motivated me to try harder. I was good at all the different events but excelled in none. There was no single event in which I wanted to specialise, so I stuck with the heptathlon.’
As a child, Dokter did not dream of the Olympics. ‘That started once I started training more seriously and saw that I might have it in me. That was as a junior athlete, I think. Only once I first became Dutch champion under eighteen did I dare dream of it.’
Papendal and WUR
‘During my final year in secondary school, I was invited to live and train at Papendal. I was living with my parents in Groningen and had chosen to study Spatial Planning and Design there. I thought staying with my parents during my first year would be chill. But I did not want to pass up on the opportunity to go to Papendal, of course. I decided to enrol in a university nearby and chose Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning at WUR, which is almost the same as my original choice but more creative. In hindsight, a better option.
‘My studies are on the back burner, especially during this Olympic year. I am an elite athlete who tries to study on the side. I train five days a week, often twice a day. When we train only once, it is a longer training. Each training session focuses on a different discipline so that I can work on each element in the heptathlon. Still, I enjoy studying in between to focus on something other than sports. For each period, I discuss the available options with a study counsellor. I took a few extra courses during my first two years, but because this is an Olympic year, I take fewer. I have now completed almost all of the first-year courses in my programme, as well as a few second-year courses.’
Paris
‘The athletics team departs for Northern France at the end of July. There, we have a so-called pre-camp, where we withdraw into our bubble to prepare as best we can for the start. My competitions are on Thursday, 8 August and Friday, 9 August. We travel to Paris three days ahead of time. There, we will stay in the Olympic village.’
‘I try to keep my nerves under control by not thinking too much about what is ahead of me. My teammates Emma Oosterwegel – who also studied at WUR – and Anouk Vetter have both joined the Olympics previously and have also won medals. They prepared me for the bustle that awaits me. I intend to show what I have learned during my training this year in Paris. If I succeed, I will be able to improve on my best heptathlon results to date. I don’t give much thought to my spot on the ranking. For now, taking part is already a dream come true.’
In addition to Dokter, biology student and track cyclist Steffie van der Peet will also make her debut at the Olympics in Paris. She will compete in the team sprint (Monday, 5 August), keirin (Wednesday, 7 August and Thursday, 8 August) and sprint (Friday, 9 August and Saturday, 10 August).
