It takes some getting used to for the 23-year-old Luc Kroon from Volendam. Since a few months he has been the manager of the AMVO, a catering establishment and a hall center in his hometown. “It still feels a bit crazy,” he says while he taps a beer behind the bar.
“A few months ago I hardly drank any alcohol and I lay in the pool early in the morning. Now I sometimes stand behind the tap for nights.”
Until recently, Kroon belonged to the top of Dutch swimming. At the European Championships 2020 in Budapest, he won silver with his relay team. In 2021 he grabbed individual gold during the European Kortebaan swimming championships in Russia. At the same tournament, he also added silver to his medal collection.
Injuries throw a spanner in the works
For a moment it all seems to go for the wind. But then a number of consecutive injuries throw a spanner in the works. “In the past three years I have had a lot of bad luck. First I got a serious knee injury, for which I had surgery. Then I got a hole in my eardrum, so I could not swim for three months. And in the meantime I was also hit by Corona.”
Due to his injuries, Kroon is constantly falling out for a long time. The recovery periods weigh heavily for him. “When I got the umpteenth injury, I thought: it is ready. If I want to get on top of this, I am at least six months later. I pull the plug out,” he says.
A job from unexpected corner
Because his top sport career ends quite abruptly, he is temporarily without a plan. At first he is considering an office job, but then he unexpectedly receives a phone call from the owner of the AMVO. “I suddenly called if I wanted to become a manager. I first had to think about that, because I had no catering experience at all. But as a top athlete I like a challenge, so I decided to take the leap.”
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