In Volendam today there is only one name that passes everyone’s lips; Jessica Painter. The 24-year-old shot putter from the village is the first Dutch woman to throw a bullet over a distance of more than twenty meters. “She has worked very hard for it,” say classmates and athletes from her old club. They love to show how hard it is to throw a four-pound bullet 20.24 meters.
“I can reach four and a half meters,” says youth trainer Annemarie Joosten of AV Edam. She still remembers that little Jessica started by throwing a 2 kilo ball. “Really very special what she has done.”
Jan Tuijp is also at the club and used to train with Schilder. “She was always very serious and performance driven.” He also wants to put a bullet for us, and comes at more than thirteen meters.
“I saw him fly and I thought ‘this is good’,” says Jessica, who still has a hard time believing it all. on NH Radio she tells her that her phone has been red hot all day and night. She enjoys all the nice words from her village and thinks she might be recognized on the street now.