Photo: Eric van Leeuwen WUR-students Emma Oosterwegel (23, Soil, Water, Atmosphere), Femke Bol (21, Communication Sciences), and Frédérique Matla (24, Health and Society) can look back upon a successful Olympics in Japan, with two bronze and one gold medal.
Matla won gold on Friday, 6 August, with the Dutch female hockey team. The team won all its eight matches in Tokyo. In the semi-finals, Matla scored one of the five goals with which the team defeated England five to one. In the finals, they defeated Argentina 3-1.
Oosterwegel achieved a historical heptathlon on Thursday with her fellow athlete Anouk Vetter. Vetter won silver, Oosterwegel won bronze. Moreover, the WUR-student broke several personal records in the best all-round of her life with hurdles and javelin, among others.
Bol set a European record on Wednesday on the 400-metre hurdles, winning bronze. On Thursday, she led the women’s relay team to the Olympic finals 4 x 400 metres. The team ended in sixth place in the finals on Saturday.
Studying
How does one perform in two worlds? ‘I have spread my studying more’, Osterwegel stated in an interview in Resource. ‘I don’t take two courses every period so that there is more time for athletics. I wanted to complete my bachelor’s in three years, but that is not possible. I have stopped worrying about when I will complete my studies. There is no rush.’
