Lars van Oostrum (20) from Wildervank won gold on Saturday at the European judo championships for juniors (-21). In the class up to 90 kilos he defeated favorite Vugar Talibov from Azerbaijan in a spectacular way.
Images of the denouement were shared on various social media. I saw extreme joy. Almost as if you didn’t expect this.
“That is also true. My opponent in the final was number 1 in the world rankings and last year’s champion. And he also made a waza-ari after 23 seconds… I then spent the entire game trying to get that score back. He succeeded 20 seconds before the end. And 1 second before the end I knocked him over and made another waza-ari, the winning score.”
Just a sports cliché: w What went through your mind then?
,,Everything. After that quick score I was more than 3 minutes behind. But actually I didn’t pay attention to the time at all. I just thought about throwing it, leveling it. And when that was accomplished, I thought: I’ll just keep going. I had no idea how long that pot would last. But in the images that I have now seen, you see the clock running back: 3 – 2 – 1. And then he lies on his back.”
…and the crowd goes crazy.
“Yes, not normal. I think there were fifty people from Groningen and Veendam especially for me. They were all screaming like crazy. Becoming European champion is crazy in itself, but this way, in this atmosphere… I’m not really into exuberance at all, but now I’ve let myself go.”
Did you celebrate?
,,No not really. I had the Nations Cup the next day. Afterwards we went out to eat something, but that was it. I was completely devastated. I didn’t do anything for two days after that.”
Your phone must have exploded.
“I have received an unprecedented number of congratulations, which is not normal. I also spent 20 minutes reposting all the Instagram stories. I’ve had a lot of feathers up my ass…”
With this European title you have assured yourself of participation in the World Junior Championships. Where and when is that?
“That is from October 4 to 7 in Odivela, near Lisbon in Portugal.”
Can you hold your form for that long?
“Well, we’re actually working towards it again. We’re taking it easy this week. Next week I have a training camp in Strasbourg. In the full week that follows, we will put the finishing touches on it.”
Do you hope to meet a Japanese at the World Cup?
“Come on, I would say. If I stand there and do judo like last weekend, anything can happen… It will be a tough job, but I hope to be able to perform stunts again. Although they will now also keep an eye on me.”
Passport
Name Lars van Oostrum
Born January 1, 2003 in Wildervank
residence Arnhem/ Wildervank
Course Pre-master Mathematics at Radboud University in Nijmegen
Sport Judo
Best performance Dutch junior champion (2023) and third at the senior national championships (2022)
Goals for 2023 Qualification for the Junior National Championships in 2023 and winning medals at European tournaments
The Approachers
This is the 22nd episode of The Approachers, a video series in which talented athletes Luciano Valente, Lars van Oostrum, Daniel Moragues, Shuohan Men, Jop van der Laan and Tim Jansen are closely followed for a year.
The Approachers is an initiative of Meer en Beter Bewegen, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, University of Groningen, Topsport Noord, BEA Foundation, Sport050, province of Groningen and the Topsport Talent School.