WHEELCHAIR TENNIS – Tom Egeberink has been immortalized tonight with his own tile in the Walk of Dalen. The 29-year-old wheelchair tennis player – who was good for silver and bronze at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo last summer – was put in the spotlight by tennis and padel association LTC Dalen. The club where he started his tennis career.
The Walk of Dalen is located on the square in front of the village church and is a tribute to (former) residents of Dalen who have made a contribution to the village. Each tile represents a top achievement or is intended as a token of appreciation.
Rower Ilse Paulis, among others, good for a gold medal at the Olympic Games in 2014, has already received a tile in the past. This also applies to cyclist Marthijs Wegdam. He became world champion time trial at the masters. There are also tiles for Henk de Jonge and Theo Kalkdijk, the founders of the Miss Summer Election Dalen event and the Zusterkring Dalen. They have been baking knee perties at the Daler Summer Evening Markets for over 45 years. There is also a memorial in the Walk of Dalen to the now deceased writer and regional historian Huib Minderhoud.
Egeberink, who now lives in Sneek, feels very honored with ‘his’ tile. “I always feel very welcome in Dalen,” says the Paralympian, who became world champion with his Dutch colleagues this spring.
The next tournament for Egberink is the US Open in New York, which starts next month for him. The wheelchair tennis player from Dalen is currently the number four in the world.