8/2/2010: Dutch indoor champion 2010! Yesterday I became Dutch indoor champion for the 5th time!! 2.19m proved to be enough to secure the victory. After this height, I had three decent attempts at 2.25m (the qualification standard for the European championships outdoor in Barcelona in July). I did not get really close, but I still took some confidence out of them. 2.25m is definitively still possible, even with the 3 training sessions a week that I have been doing for the past year. It was a victory I really had to fight for. I struggled with my technique for most of the competition. At 2.10 I needed two attempts. And my second-time clearance was a real miracle. I hit the bar on the way down with full force. The bar jumped off the stands, went 10cm in the air, turned around a couple of times..... and landed back on the stands. This extreme bit of luck somehow helped my to get my jumps together a bit more. I adapted my approach quite a bit, and it helped. 2.13 and 2.16 were first time clearances. At 2.19m I needed 3 attempts. Finally, on my third attempt, my approach was the way it should be, landing perfectly on my marks (thanks to Tymon to help me work this out during the competition) and cleared 2.19m with some room to spare. Of course I was as surprised as anybody that this proved to be the winning height. Nevertheless, I am enjoying my 5th victory indoors (after 4 consecutive wins 2004-2007) and will now be working my way towards the outdoor season. I will upkeep my moderate training intensity of three per week. Outdoors I will be doing a lot more competitions to see how high I can still fly. on this site you can find some video footage (from 6 min. 25, and from 9 min. 10.) By the way, the jump they show at 6 min. 30 is not 2.13m (which I cleared in my first attempt), but one of my 2.25m attempts... Pictures below show: hitting the bar on the way down at 2.10m; apologizing for my luck when the bar stays up; room to spare on 2.19m   Dutch championship, Apeldoorn, Netherlands:  2.05m: o 2.10m: xo 2.13m: o 2.16m: o 2.19m: xxo 2.25m: xxx  (Details...)

16/2/2009: good jumping, but no victory at Dutch indoor championships Last weekend I jumped at the national indoor championships. The conclusion is simple: my jumping was very good, unfortunately the end result was second place. My preparations for the indoor season have been very different from previous years. Of course the fatherhood demands time and energy, and therefore the amount of training has been less than in other years. That this need not be an obstacle for good jumping was abvious this weekend. My jumping was consistent, powerful and technically sound. I felt in very good shape. I started my competition at 2.02m, as I didn't have much practice jumps during the warm up because of the somewhat chaotic conditions in the arena. My first heights were quite easy: 2.02, 2.07 and 2.12m were without any difficulty. At 2.18m, I also had a first time clearance, delivering one of my better jumps of the competition. At 2.21m I needed two attempts, the second time clearance was again very good. At 2.24m I tried to push too hard in the first two attempts, resulting in jumps that were a little bit less powerful... However, on my third attempt, I had a very good jump, only brushing the bar off with my heels. So close to victory and the European indoor championships, and yet so far away.. Nevertheless I really enjoyed jumping the way I did, being cheered along by friends and family (yes, also my son!). Probably, I will compete in one indoor competition in the end of February, where I will try to keep up the consistent jumping and maybe increasing my best indoor mark. Then, I will start preparations for the outdoor season. As with this indoor season, I will focus on quality and focus in my training. Probably I will do some competitions from May on, but my focus to be in good shape will be July, August and September.   Dutch championship, Apeldoorn, Netherlands:  2.02m: o 2.07m: o 2.12m: o 2.18m: o 2.21m: xo 2.24m: xxx  (Details...)

8/2/2009: back in business after a somewhat disspointing end to a very good 2008 season, I went back to training at the end of september. But it has not been a regular winter for me. 3 november, my son Marijn was born. A complete new dimension to my, our, life! Of course this is a big change in my personal life, but also in terms of time I have been able to spend on highjumping. Nevertheless, training has been consistent and I have been able to do my basic work. I was very curious how jumping in a competition would be. My first competition was last week in Apeldoorn, the new indoor accommodation in the Netherlands. Overall I was quite satisfied, with an end result of 2.18m, and consistent jumping. I can still improve on some major technical issues (mainly in the run up). After this first test, next week will be a true test of my current abilities, at the Dutch indoor championships.   Other competition, Apeldoorn, Netherlands:  2.03m: o 2.09m: o 2.15m: o 2.21m: xxx 2.18m: o  (Details...)

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