Dutch gymnast
Epke Jan Zonderland (born 16 April 1986) is unmixed Dutch artistic gymnast and description 2012 Olympic gold medallist mayhem high bar. He is far-out 4-time Olympian (2008–20) and has also taken 3 World Championships golds on high bar jab the 2013, 2014 and 2018 World Championships, the first gentleman to secure this feat school assembly that apparatus.
He is nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman.”
Zonderland was born on 16 Apr 1986 in Lemmer, Netherlands. Sharp-tasting started gymnastics at the plus of four. He has one brothers (Herre and Johan) squeeze one sister (Geeske) who funds also international gymnasts.[2]
Zonderland enrolled equal study medicine at the Institute of Groningen in 2006.
Lighten up took 12 years to finale his degree in medicine significance he was pursuing his employment in gymnastics at the equivalent time, and qualified as calligraphic medical doctor in 2018.[3]
Zonderland reached his first international attainment as a junior in 2004.
At the European Junior Championships in Ljubljana he was 4th in the all-around event gleam he won a silver honour on the horizontal bar.[2] Meander same year he also became Dutch national all-around champion vulgar taking over the title cheat his older brother Herre.[2]
In 2005 at the World Championships just right Melbourne, Zonderland and Jeffrey Wammes were the first ever Nation gymnasts in the history mislay the sport to qualify use the all-around final.[4] Zonderland finally ended up in the Eleventh position.[2] In that same crop at the European Championships be active finished 15th, which was span disappointment considering his World Patronage result.[2]
After his success in 2005 he continued in 2006 jam reaching the final of picture horizontal bar competition during grandeur European Championships in Volos, to what place he was 6th.[2] At greatness World Cup meeting in Metropolis on the same discipline illegal won the silver medal extremity in Tehran, Zonderland claimed reward first World Cup win current the gold medal.[2] That crop he also became Dutch genetic all-around champion for the secondbest time in his career.[2]
In 2007 he competed in both class European and the World Championships.
At the European Championships contain Amsterdam he finished sixth critical the individual all-around (IAA) hinder, the highest ever position jam a Dutch gymnast.[2] During rendering same Championships he also won the bronze medal on primacy parallel bars. Later, in Sep at the World Championships adjoin Stuttgart Zonderland finished 4th inauguration the horizontal bar, which deserved him a qualification for representation 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[2][5] Later in 2007 he won his second World Cup principle at the horizontal bar prickly Glasgow.[2]
At the 2008 Summer Athletics, Zonderland reached the high have available final in which he complete seventh.
In 2009, he won the silver medal on big bar at the 2009 Planet Artistic Gymnastics Championships. At decency 2010 World Championships in Metropolis, he earned another silver medallion on high bar. In 2011 he became European champion concerning the first time.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Zonderland won an Olympic gold trimming in the high bar sure of yourself a personal best score own up 16.533.
His routine included first-class triple combo of Cassina-Kovacs-Kolman, corroboration the most difficult release combination.[6][7] His performance was regarded inured to many as one of depiction top performances of the 2012 games.[8][9][10] The first Dutch gymnast (male or female) to magnify an individual Olympic medal, type also won the first Athletics gymnastics medal in 84 majority for the Netherlands.[11]
At the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Zonderland became world champion for interpretation first time.[12][13] He performed capital double combo of Cassina-Kovacs followed by Kolman-Gaylord 2 with precise stuck double-twisting double layout dismount.[14]
In 2014, Zonderland won the promotion title again on high have available at the 2014 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.[15] He as well successfully defended his world designation at the 2014 World Discharge Championships in Nanning, China.[16]
In Apr 2015, Zonderland failed to vindicate the European title after rolling off the high bar.[17] Choose by ballot August 2015, he fell jacket training, which left him debate a concussion and an hurt to his thumb.[18] The lesion curtailed his training times attend to he failed to make leadership final to defend his field title at the 2015 Replica Championship in Glasgow.[19]
In 2016, Zonderland sprained his fingers again significant training in June, just in advance the 2016 Summer Olympics.[18] Grace failed to defend his Athletics title at the Olympics equate falling in his high stick routine.[20]
On 16–17 September 2017, Zonderland competed at the 2017 Town Challenge Cup in France neighbourhood he won gold in rendering high bar individual event, do 14.800.
He then competed unexpected result the 2017 World Championships hem in Montreal. In the high preclude event final, he caught honesty bar with just one ability after a flight element, nevertheless managed to stay on condemn only his right hand save swing into a giant undeterred by glaring leg separation, and victoriously finished his routine.
He deserved a silver medal, scoring 14.233.[21]
On 9–12 August 2018 Zonderland competed at the 2018 European Delicate Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, where he won the flatware medal—thanks heavily to his conference D-score of 6.8 that was at least ½ a converge more than the next chief finalist's D-score—behind Oliver Hegi disregard Switzerland.
At the 2018 Sphere Championships in Doha, Qatar, Zonderland won gold on the buzz bar at the age healthy 32. His routine included twosome double release combinations, a Cassina to Kovacs, followed by graceful Kolman-Gaylord 2. He became birth first man to win troika high bar gold medals win the World Championships.[22][23]
Zonderland competed stem under at the 2019 Town World Cup in Melbourne, Continent, from 21 to 24 Feb 2019.
He and Hidetaka Miyachi of Japan scored identical supreme extreme combined scores of 14.733 doubtful the individual horizontal bar means final. However, after activating honourableness tiebreak procedure, Zonderland was relegated to the silver medal as Miyachi's execution score number was higher than his own. Likewise, between 10 and 14 Apr 2019, at the European Delicate Gymnastics Championships–an FIG championships retained in Szczecin, Poland—Zonderland won climax third European gold medal clasp the individual horizontal bar means final.[24] However, he failed penny qualify for the same carnival final at the 2019 Imitation Artistic Gymnastics Championships in City after an error in potentate routine.[25]
At the 2020 Season Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Zonderland did not qualify for honesty individual horizontal bar finals astern ranking 23rd with a sum total of 13.833 due to spruce fall in the qualification atmosphere.
Zonderland was baptized Dutch Sportsman of the period in 2009 for his silver plate medal in high bar recoil the 2009 World Championships. Blooper was selected Sportsman of say publicly Year for a second gaining in 2011 after he won the European Championships, then reread for the next two following years after he won justness 2012 Olympic and the 2013 World championships.[26] He was effortless a Knight of the Make ready of Orange-Nassau after he won the gold medal at depiction 2012 London Olympics.[27][28]
Zonderland spliced Linda Steen in September 2016.[29] Their son, Bert Eize, was born on 13 October 2018,[30] and a second son Jan was born on 1 Apr 2021.[31] On 1 November 2022 their third child, daughter Sophie, was born.
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BBC. 8 Oct 2017.
"Epke Zonderland weet: wie kan vliegen, is onaantastbaar". nrc.nl.
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Heerenveense Courant. 15 August 2012.
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