‘I stand in front of the class as a teacher of group six, kids of 9 and 10 years old. When they hear that they will have master Jeroen next year, they immediately say: oh, she has a fast sister. They all know Fem. I’ve been trying to get her to go to school for two years, but she’s super busy and of course it was difficult with corona.’
‘I also exercised myself. When I wanted to play football as a child, my parents told me to learn to run first. That’s why I went to athletics. Hurdle walking was also my favorite part. I was also good at the 200 meters. The 100 meters was just too short because, like Fem, I am very tall. I’m 5 feet 96. I think I had talent too. I still participated in the NK juniors, but I was often injured. My body breaks down very quickly.
Fem has a lot less of that. I think my pain threshold is very high, so I don’t quickly realize that something is wrong. Fem can also take a lot, but she does not fall out and uses it to walk through the acidification. I had an ear infection once and I didn’t go to the doctor until I couldn’t understand the girls in my class anymore. Turns out I’ve been doing that for a long time. Things like that happen to me often.
‘Fem used to be very fanatical. She was willing to leave things for the sport. When we ate chips at home on weekends, she would have sweet potato with salmon. I was much less passionate about it. I also wanted to play football and go out with my friends.’
‘I wouldn’t trade places with her. Yes, maybe for a day, to feel what it’s like to perform when all those people are watching you in a big stadium in a foreign country. I like how she prepares for competitions. She thinks everything out in advance. I would find that difficult myself.
Things always kind of happen to me. We are enjoying ourselves in the stands. We try to travel with her to competitions as much as possible. Unfortunately, we couldn’t be there in Tokyo because of corona. I was on vacation in Italy with a friend. When she ran her Olympic final, I was on the night ferry from Naples to Palermo. Luckily there was a television on the boat where we could watch it. We celebrated her bronze medal very quietly, because we were among the sleeping people.’