Ordinary expands into unbelievably extraordinary when the love and support of your sister, family and community are involved.
You would be amazed at what you can accomplish in life, sometimes achieving a global victory that has never been done before.
Just ask Sanne Wevers.
The young Dutchwoman won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, orchestrating a gymnastics routine that stood out with a wonderful contrast in styles compared to the other elite world class competitors.
fciwomenswrestling.com article, wikimedia photo
The informative source romper.com reports, “Sanne Wevers has just made history: she’s the first Dutch woman to win an Olympic medal. She won a gold medal for her balance beam performance earlier today, scoring a 15.466 and defeating front-runner Simone Biles.”
The enlightening global sports and news source Sports Illustrated reflected, “Wevers was an unexpected winner. Ten years after making her first appearance at the European Championships, the 24-year-old Dutchwoman performed a routine that was short on acrobatic skills, but big on pirouettes, a skill that Wevers is known for.
She pulled off a triple turn without a hint of hesitation early in the routine and later added a turn that reversed fields and headed back in the other direction. She and her twin sister, Lieke, a teammate on the Dutch squad for several years, are known as for the particular attribute that earned Sanne a silver medal at worlds last year and a gold medal in Rio. At the European Games in Baku last summer, it was Lieke who walked away with the title.”
Have you heard of Sanne Wevers?
Her story is very extraordinary. Let’s meet her and briefly travel her road to historic stardom.
Our Dutch beauty made her professional debut in gymnastics at the Junior European Championships in 2004.
Born September 17, 1991 in The Netherlands, Sanne has a twin sister named Lieke.
Lieke is also a gymnast who won a gold medal on the balance beam and a bronze medal with the Dutch team at the 2015 European Games.
Regarding her history, in 1992, Sanne and her family moved to Oldenzaal. When she was 12, she and her sister started training with their father at a local club in Dronrijp. The family later moved to Twente, and the twins started training at Topturnen Oost-Nederland (English translation: Top Gymnastics Eastern Netherlands).
Sanne made her international debut in 2007 at the Ghent World Cup, where she placed seventh on uneven bars. She also placed eighth on balance beam at the Glasgow Grand Prix.
She certainly has had her challenges.
In 2015, Ms. Wevers competed at the Ljubljana World Cup in April, where a fall on balance beam landed her in fourth place. At the European Championships, she qualified to the uneven bars and balance beam finals. She won a bronze on bars, but fell on one of her spins on beam and finished her routine well over her allotted 90 seconds. She finished eighth.
In 2016, Sanne upgraded the difficulty score of her beam routine by seven-tenths and won gold at the Olympic Test Event. She then became the Dutch national champion on beam with a score of 15.650.
This now brings us to her unbelievable present, some of which bears repeating.
fciwomenswrestling.com article, wikimedia photo
On 15 August, she won the gold medal in the balance beam final with a score of 15.466. This was the first time a Dutch woman won an individual medal in artistic gymnastics, the second time a Dutch woman won a medal in artistic gymnastics after the Dutch team won gold at their home Olympics in 1928, and the second time a Dutch gymnast won an individual medal, following Epke Zonderland‘s win on horizontal bar at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
“Because I’m just an ordinary person that did some extraordinary things.”… Donna Summer
Eternal congratulations are in order for our star who shined so bright.
As the expression goes, she’s coming from a very good place.
Let’s visit Leeuwarden, the village that helped her change the world.
Leeuwarden is a city and municipality with a population of 108,249 in Friesland in the Netherlands. It is the provincial capital and seat of the States of Friesland.
The oldest remains of houses date back to the 2nd century AD. Leeuwarden has been permanently inhabited since the 10th century.
The inviting travel site, netherlands-tourism.com smiles, “The city of Leeuwarden is a city with an exciting history and a vibrant future. It is the capital city of the province of Friesland, and is located in the northern part of Holland.
The city of Leeuwarden is home to some important activities and structures. The largest cattle market in the Netherlands is located in the city.
Leeuwarden is a great town in you are looking for some good shopping. It has over 400 shops and is a great place for not only high street brands, but also some great individual and artisan shops in the little roads and alleyways that are to be found just off of the main shopping area.”
Very enticing. Leeuwarden is rich with history and yet keeps her eyes freshly focused on the economics of the new world.
From one of the oldest civilized parts of the world, we can expect more.
The linguistic and travel experts at Lonely Planet summarize eloquently. “An unexpected combination of style, gritty back alleys, cafe-lined canals and urban renewal, Friesland’s capital is well worth a visit, if only to explore its superb trinity of museums. A continuous flow of cyclists ride happily along the broad paths that flank the canals, whose tunnels are illuminated purple by night.”
Hopefully you had a chance enjoy Sanne compete in Rio. At 24 years old, this is probably her last one. Life is so much about the moments in the present, which so quickly and permanently become the memories of the past.
Please enjoy the video while it lasts.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/sanne-wevers-wins-balance-beam-gold-mesmerizing-spins
“We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too.”… Helen Hayes
Today, the female sports world around the globe celebrate the unique accomplishment of Sanne Wevers.
She’s made the extraordinary unique and created an unprecedented new history.
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OPENING PHOTO FOUND zomerspelen.org
Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/sanne-wevers-wins-balance-beam-gold-mesmerizing-spins
https://www.romper.com/p/who-is-sanne-wevers-she-took-gold-on-the-balance-beam-16432
http://www.netherlands-tourism.com/leeuwarden/
http://wikitravel.org/en/Leeuwarden
http://www.holland.com/global/tourism/article/leeuwarden.htm
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/the-netherlands/leeuwarden
