As a joke, he climbed a pole while on holiday in Albufeira, Portugal. Now, three years later, Tom de Klerck (25) from Sint-Michielsgestel, together with Lieve Warmoeskerken (18) from Best, is hunting for medals during the World Pole Championships in Argentina. Tom: “The first training sessions really hurt. But luckily I continued.”
Tom had never thought about seriously practicing pole sports, also known as pole dancing. “That sometimes doesn’t have such a good image.” He loved sports such as judo, boxing and fitness. Until the infamous night out with a pole dancing adventure in summer Albufeira, a video of which was obtained by coach Cindy Cooijmans.
“Cindy is the mother of a good friend and she invited me to come and take a training course. I did that with a number of friends, we had a fun day. I enjoyed it so much that I started taking the sport more and more seriously.”
“It was painful and hard when I first started.”
Pole sport was certainly not easy for the muscular Brabander. “It was painful and heavy when I first started. You feel the pole gripping your skin. I was not used to anything and had bruises everywhere. But when I boxed, I also had pain during sparring. I continued and had a lot of fun with it.”
He turned out to be talented and in the past three years he won three medals at the National Championships, two of which were gold. At the 2024 World Cup he won silver with another man. When he left the Netherlands to become a ski instructor in Austria, coach Cooijmans paired him with Lieve Warmoeskerken, who also found himself without a buddy after winning bronze at the World Cup.
The team Duo Pole Position turned out to be a good match. Tom: “The first month you train together and see if there is a click. If that is not the case, it is over quickly. We turned out to be well attuned to each other. Lieve is very flexible and graceful, I am more about strength. I find the combination of men and women in sports more beautiful to see than the power of two men.”
Collaborating with a man was also new for Lieve. “I first participated solo and then for two years with a female partner. She was strong, but Tom is much more explosive.”
Unlike Tom, Lieve started playing pole sports at the age of 10. “I was in group 8, many classmates saw it as a somewhat strange sport. It was also unknown, but I showed some videos so that they could get a better idea.”
As a duo they train three times a week and they also train in class and individually. “There are eleven mandatory exercises that we have to perform neatly in four minutes. But it is also about appearance, choreography and the transition between exercises.”
“We want to do things right for everyone even more than ever.”
She will be at a World Cup for the fifth time from October 20 to 25. For the 18-year-old resident of Best, this tournament feels different from the first three editions. “The trip to Argentina is long and costs a lot of money. Unfortunately, we have to pay for everything ourselves, but with a crowdfunding campaign fortunately we receive support. This makes us want to do good for everyone even more than ever. We are confident and are going for gold.”