Taking a silver medal during the European Games in Poland last week was a wonderful reward for synchronized swimmer Bregje de Brouwer (24) from Brabant. For years she was successful with twin sister Noortje, but due to an injury, 18-year-old Marloes Steenbeek is now her duet partner. However, Noortje is as good as match fit again, so there will be a luxury problem next month at the World Cup.
Together with her twin sister, Bregje from Goirle has been forming a duet in synchronized swimming since she was five. “To really take the next step, we decided to leave Brabant in 2017. In Hoofddorp, where we live, the facilities are excellent and we can train fully. On weekends we try to go back to our family. We are and will remain Brabanders. We also enjoy talking to other top athletes from our province.”
“A busy life and sometimes quite spicy.”
Life in Hoofddorp is largely dominated by training. “We can be found in the sports complex 34 hours a week. We live for our sport and that means your social life looks different from peers. In addition to synchronized swimming, we study at the Johan Cruyff Academy. A study is important and it is nice to be able to draw attention to something else. It’s a busy life and sometimes quite spicy. But we get very nice things in return.”
In 2021 they took a creditable ninth place at the Olympic Games. After that tournament, Noortje had to take a rest because of a shoulder injury. An operation followed and then a long rehabilitation. Bregje found a new partner in Marloes Steenbeek (18). A silver medal at the European Games is the highlight for now. “A process with someone new next to you in the water takes time and goes through good and lesser phases. Together we train a lot and then you grow closer together. We also have a great trainer in Esther Jauma.”
The duet will spend the next week and a half in the Netherlands preparing for the World Cup in Japan. Never change a winning team or is it? Noortje was already reserve during the European Games and is ready for a comeback. Bregje: “We are very satisfied with her steps. We certainly cannot rule out the possibility that I will swim the free freestyle with Marloes and the technical freestyle with Noortje. But it’s not all settled yet.”
“We’re going to perfect our performance.”
The trio is training hard to be clear at the World Cup. “There is a new scoring system in our sport where you have to execute the pre-submitted plan as well as possible. If you make a mistake, you don’t stand a chance. We only made a mistake in the preliminary round last week, but we were able to adjust things for the final. For the World Cup we opt for a higher difficulty level and we will perfect it.”
In any case, the silver medal in Poland creates a lot of confidence. “I approach every match as if it were a World Cup. But around the European Games you notice that it is a special tournament in terms of atmosphere. And especially with a silver medal. Our ultimate goal is a ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games, which is really the biggest podium of all.”