On Liberation Day, the Brabant synchronous swimming players Noortje and Bregje de Brouwer dived into the cold water of the Amstel, where they performed an impressive choreography full of symbolism around freedom for the king, queen and thousands of spectators. A lot different than a cure at the Olympic Games, but at least as impressive.
Noortje and Bregje are still enjoying Tuesday: “It was very special,” says Bregje. In fact, the twins don’t often do these kinds of shows, just competitions. Yet they didn’t have to think long about this. “It is something of the bucket list Kan “, Bregje laughs. It was also a good chance to put the sport in the spotlight again, which the sisters want to achieve on the Games since their bronze slab.
“The wetsuits were not so graceful, but necessary in the cold Amstel.”
Noortje and Bregje enjoy the performance audibly. During the performance there was not really room for that: “We had to concentrate enormously. You just want to perform, especially if it is for such a large audience and with such a loaded meaning.” So, just like during the Olympic Games: “That is not very different, even if it is a match against others and now your goal is to entertain the audience.”
The royal couple were in that audience. An hour before the implementation, they came to see the twins. “They immediately recognized us:” How are the girls? “They asked. Isn’t that great?” Says Bregje with a smile. “You set yourself in that you have to behave very formally, but they broke the tension: they are also just people who love sport.”
What was an important difference with the Games was that the version did not take place in a warm swimming pool, but in the Amstel, with a water temperature of 16 degrees. “We would have preferred to swam in a nice show bath suit, but that was just not feasible,” says Bregje. “In a wetsuit it might be less graceful, but otherwise your muscles cramp. And if you can no longer move, there is no show either.”
“Three women from one village in the spotlight for the entire country.”
It was also dark in the Amstel and that while the vision is very important when swimming clean: “You have to keep an eye on each other, otherwise you can easily go less and less synchronously, because you don’t know where someone is.” They solved that with hours of rehearsing, or: “practicing a lot and trust each other,” says Bregje.
Because the performance could turn out larger than a duet, the sisters called in help of six other swimmers. “That way we could show more spectacle above water, such as jumps. And nice to see how seriously everyone took it.” As if that wasn’t special enough, they also worked with singer Floor Jansen – who happens to be from Goirle. “We discovered that only during rehearsals. Three women from the same village, together on stage while the whole country is watching! That felt really special.”
Now Noortje and Bregje look back with a pride feeling. “At the moment you are only focusing,” says Bregje. “But when you hear the reactions from the audience, you know it was fine.