Douwe Zantinge, master’s student of Plant Biotechnology
‘I picked up weightlifting again last year after having been out of the game for two years due to an injury, and I was able to place for the National Championships that will take place on 13 January. The nationals are my chance at taking the next step in weightlifting, as I could qualify for the European Championships. I would most probably not be among the top at the Europeans, but I mainly want to participate to experience the event and everything around it.
I practiced judo when I was younger; that was a lot of fun and a great outlet for energy, but I just couldn’t enjoy the competitive aspect of it. It is very different in weightlifting: that depends much more on your own performance. I have now been practicing strength training for six years, two of which I have focused on weightlifting. My first competition was the National Junior Championships (< 20 years), and that really got me into it.
Feeling a little off
Weightlifting brings everything together: precision, timing, technique, consistency and power. That combination really works for me. The movements always keep feeling a little bit off: a kind of uncertainty that remains in the background and helps me hold that motivation to keep practicing. And when you reach a high – a new personal best or a competition, it often doesn’t last longer than a minute. It’s funny how that short moment can still make all that investment of time and energy worth it.
It’s the childhood dream of many people to be among the great names of your sport, and those names have a certain allure in weightlifting, especially in het East. The sport is highly respected from Poland to Japan. It’s a shame that it is barely seen in the Netherlands. The way we talk about the FIFA World Cup or the World Speed Skating Championships here is how they talk about weightlifting.’
In this series:
2018 will be my year because… I will go to Ecuador for volunteering
2018 will be my year because… I will retire
2017 was my year because…