Emotional Jorina Baars looks back on a successful sports year: “Really very special”

For more than 26 years, Jorina Baars has put everything aside to be able to kickbox at the highest level. She lives for her sport and is therefore happy that this year, now that we can finally put corona behind us, she can resume her top sports life. She therefore looks back on a positive year: “My gym is running smoothly and I have finally fought competitions again,” says Jorina.

The down-to-earth Nieuwedieper smiles from ear to ear when she talks about her ninth and tenth world title, both of which she managed to conquer this year. “This has been a very good year,” she says proudly.

In the video below, Jorina looks back with a smile and a tear on her successes of 2022 (text continues below the video).

It seems that Baars has been going easy for years. She wins game after game and has a wall in her gym full of championship belts. It is every time looking for an opponent, because there are few women who dare to compete against her. But that’s what Jorina has been working hard for all these years. She takes the preparation for a competition very seriously and there is little time for an evening out or a nice dinner.

“You sometimes miss outings with your girlfriends,” explains the kickboxer. Her life is all about keeping fit, running a gym and also teaching kickboxing, so there is little time for other entertainment in a year. “But I know what I’m doing it for and luckily I also find moments to do fun things now and then.”

And as if kickboxing on the world stage wasn’t enough, Jorina also had her first boxing match this year. In a full Carré, she made an attempt to win her first win with a sport that was new to her. The reason for that: “In kickboxing I don’t have many matches, but with boxing you have a whole new crop of ladies that you can play against.”

The game ended in a draw, but there was a taste for more. “Boxing is really a completely different game, I was also very focused during the match not to use my legs. That is not allowed,” explains Baars. “But I would definitely like to do it again.”

Jorina therefore hopes to box another match in 2023, but she also does not want kickboxing to be diluted. “I hope to have another kickboxing match in the first quarter of 2023,” says Baars. All that is needed for that is an opponent, and it doesn’t seem to have been found yet.

Jorina’s goals for 2023 are simple: “Keep training and fighting and above all enjoy yourself”, she says with a smile on her face. But also thinking about the future is something she does regularly. “I sometimes think about stopping, I turned 34 in October,” says Jorina. “But as long as my body still pulls it, I still like it and I can still compete with the world top, I will keep going.”