“I expected that a medal would be enough for a sponsorship contract, but it doesn’t look like that for the time being. I think that is very skewed,” says Van Klinken. “Suppose I had been a sprinter or long -distance runner, I probably had had a million contract for several years.”
Van Klinken feels like a discus thrower and shot toter disadvantaged among athletes who end up in other disciplines. “Even if you are almost the best in the world in your discipline, the big clothing brands doesn’t care.”
According to Van Klinken, the appearance of the pitchers and stoters plays a role in this. “I think that if you look like a doll, you have your contract as good as inside. If I looked slightly different, those performance doesn’t even fascinate. Pitchers don’t meet the classical beauty ideal. That is actually very scandalous.”