Marinde Smolders (24) is a top athlete and psychology student at Erasmus University. On Wednesday, July 31, she will be at the Wheel Gymnastics World Championships in the Netherlands. Marinde tells us about her preparation and her story.
Marinde has been practicing gymnastics since the age of five and made the switch to wheel gymnastics when she was 13 years old. She is currently preparing for next week's World Championships, but the path leading up to it was anything but easy.
About three years ago, Marinde broke her ankle and tore her ankle ligaments. What followed was two years of rehabilitation. She had to rebuild her body and skills all over again. This has made her physically and mentally much stronger.
Since September she is back and feels like a new version of herself. Marinde became Dutch Champion and now gets to compete with the best of the world at the World Championships.
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The preparations towards the World Cup were very intense. There have been even weeks of training every day, sometimes up to four hours long. Now a week before the World Championships, she is in a recovery period with a few more training sessions and the assignment to visualize, where her education come in handy. Marinde visualizes how she stands, how she tightens her muscles and how she envisions her excercise. With the goal of gaining confidence so she can give it her all next week.
Marinde is not having too many expectations from the World Championships. She already considers it a privilege to be on such a stage within one year of her return into the sport. She feels like a new version of herself, wants to enjoy every day and having fun is her number one priority. This is her comeback, the moment she is back.
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On Wednesday, July 31, Marinde will be competing from 15.00 to 18.45. If she is among the best six in the world, she may perform another final on Friday and/or Sunday. Would you like to support het? Tickets can be purchased at https://wc2024.wheelgymnastics.nl/ .
In case you can't make it there wearing an orange shirt and cheering, you can also follow the livestream! Marinde will be posting this on her own Social Media next week: @rhonrad_marinde
It is also possible to help Marinde fund her World Championship. You can then donate some through this link: https://yvgtf.nl/talentboek/ga-mee-met-marinde-naar-het-wk-2024
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