Suppose you become European champion three times, win silver three times at a World Cup and take bronze twice at the Olympic Games. In addition to all the Grand Prix and Grand Slam victories in a judo career of almost twenty years. And yet you find yourself one loser, because you were hyper nervous at decisive moments, looked for the attack too much – and thus missed out on gold several times.
It happened to Henk Grol, the blond judo giant from Veendam who, according to experts, had more talent than, for example, Mark Huizinga and Dennis van der Geest. They did become Olympic and world champions respectively. “The level was there, but mentally I did not do well,” Grol admits in his recently published autobiography, written by sports journalist Mark van den Heuvel.
Maniacal
Focus is the title of the book, but that sports cliché can safely be called a euphemism. ‘Beast’ or ‘possessed’ would have been better titles. Grol emerges as an obsessive sportsman with a maniacal training zeal. Under the guise: “Talent is a handful of nothing. When you open your hand, it’s gone.”
A day without training was a lost day for Grol. “I loved breaking down so much, I was addicted to it. I was a monster, didn’t let anyone in. I had to throw someone against the ceiling every day. That didn’t endear me to everyone.” A little further on: “I would rather die than lose.”
Also read: a report about Henk Grol’s last matchduring the Tokyo Olympic Games, in 2021
And all that was accompanied by a laundry list of injuries. He’s broken just about every bone, torn every tendon and muscle. According to his regular orthopedic surgeon (and confidante) Gino Kerkhoffs, he consulted him about 450 to five hundred times between 2009 and 2022. And despite all medical warnings, Grol often got back on the judo mat much too early.
Kerkhoffs: “Henk started bench pressing with a broken thumb. Then the plaster was completely torn.” But the doctor also shows great appreciation for the sportsman. “When all the books said something was not possible, Henk often proved the opposite,” says Kerkhoffs, who calls him a “rash fool.”
Addicted to sleeping pills
Grol “only became more reckless” in his hunt for Olympic gold. He ignored an infection in his knee that almost required his leg to be amputated. A year after his sports retirement, he knows: “When you do martial arts, you sometimes hit your head. It was stupidity, impulsive behavior.”
Less well known than the many injuries were the sleeping pills to which Grol became addicted over the years. “Those pills out or I out,” his current girlfriend warned at the start of their relationship. He now says: “I am completely deranged by the extreme stress. I had to win that gold medal. It was a war in my head.”
The book is a series of one-liners, the straightforward type of Grol is a grateful protagonist. But Van den Heuvel also interviewed various trainers, such as Ronald Joorse: “I never understood Henk’s all-or-nothing mentality. Even when he was ahead, he took the initiative again. He always wanted to win spectacularly. But I also enjoyed it. He had an extreme goodwill factor.”
Walking baby
At a young age, Grol moved from Groningen to Haarlem, where famous trainer Cor van der Geest ran the renowned judo school Kenamju – all the while literally screaming his throat hoarse for his sons Dennis and Eelco.
In the chapter ‘The Van der Geest family cartel’ Grol talks about his love-hate relationship with them. After he quickly exchanged his Haarlem attic room for a familiar Groningen home out of homesickness – and therefore started commuting back and forth – Cor responded in the Haarlems Dagblad cynical: “Grol is a walking baby.”
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Photo ANP
Grol shows understanding for the fact that the sons were favored by their father. He admired fellow raw-maker Cor – and vice versa. Van der Geest wore several hats. In addition to being ‘father of’ and club coach, he was also technical director of the judo association. It is a pity that the Van der Geest family does not receive a response in the book.
When Grol increasingly dominated Eelco in the same weight class, the youngest son was naturalized as a ‘judo Belgian’. In the meantime, he is still guided by his Dutch coach/father. Grol: “From that moment on it was war at the club. Those guys absolutely hated that guy from Veendam.”
Between the lines we read about Cor van der Geest’s not exactly gentle approach. The term ‘transgressive behavior’ is used. Grol had no problem with it. “How many times have I been yelled at or hit by him. But Cor also provided relaxation. He tried to take the stress away from me.” This very successful book shows that this was not or hardly successful.