Irene Schouten won the Sportswoman of the Year award last night. The Hoogkarspelse was the absolute queen of the last Olympic Winter Games in Beijing with three gold medals and one bronze medal. Schouten was chosen at the NOC*NSF Sports Gala in Amsterdam over Suzanne Schulting and Annemiek van Vleuten.
The 30-year-old Schouten had a great 2022 with Olympic gold in the 3000 meters, the 5000 meters and the mass start. In addition, she also took the bronze with the pursuit team. After the Olympic Games, the West Frisian was also the best at the World Allround Championships. It is the first time in her career that Schouten has received the Jaap Eden Award, the prize for the best Dutch athlete of the year.
Because several Dutch women achieved top performances this year, there was a lot of competition for Schouten. Short track star Suzanne Schulting and cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten were also nominated. Athlete Femke Bol and Ireen Wüst, among others, did not survive the final selection.
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North Holland also won prizes in the election of the Sports Team of the Year. The women’s 4×400 meter relay team took the win. The relay team became European champion in Munich last August. Lieke Klaver (Enkhuizen) and the sisters Lisanne and Laura de Witte (Heiloo), just like Femke Bol, Eveline Saalberg and Andrea Bouma, were part of the successful Dutch team.