Marianne van der Steen from Tilburg is doing great at the Ice Climbing World Cup in America. Last week she wrote history by being the first Dutch person to win gold, and last weekend she added another gold medal. “It’s been a great season.”
The woman from Tilburg managed to stay ahead of her direct competitor by just five seconds and took the win. The second gold is the ultimate reward for her life, which is completely devoted to ice climbing.
The 41-year-old ice climber is very proud and looks back on the past season with pleasure. “This victory is so much more than just one climb. It has been a great season after sixteen years of participating in the World Cup Series with so many ups and downs,” she says.
The World Cup is in Canada here to look back. From 1.37.00 it is Van der Steen’s turn.
In her sixteen-year career, Marianne has appeared on an international stage dozens of times, but never before has she reached the highest steps of a World Cup. She continued to train all these years and this season her dedication and perseverance was rewarded.
A coin has two sides
It sounds like a dream, but every coin has two sides. Marianne knows all about that. In order to participate in the World Cup Series, Marianne travels around America and Canada in a pick-up truck with her boyfriend Dennis van Hoek.
While her competitors flew from one competition to another, Marianne drove from here to there, and also slept in the car to save costs.
Three years ago, she chose to quit her job to climb full-time. She also trains various talents and the Dutch youth team on a voluntary basis.
