Skiing is my passion and I want to reach the top. Ever since my parents introduced me to the mountains I fell in love. The freedom you have with skiing is endless. 

I started skiing when I was 5 years old. My parents love to ski and wanted me to experience the thrill of skiing as well, but due to my handicap I couldn't. When we found out about sitskiing it was the perfect solution. I fell in love with the sport and only wanted to get better and faster! 

First a bit about my disability. I was born with spina bifida occulta. It’s a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. Difficult words, but in my case it means that my legs are paralyzed. This never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do. I’ll always look at solutions instead of problems. 

Fast forward to 2014 when I was scouted by the Dutch Skiing Federation to train with the national talent team. From here I started training weekly at Snowworld Landgraaf, the indoor ski slope in the southern part of the country. Shortly after seeing my skill-level, the trainers decided to bring me on my first trainings camp abroad to compete in a youth race in Sestriere Italy. This opportunity was a great experience and kept me going back to the alps year after year to practice.
 

In 2019 things started to get more serious. The Ski Federation did not have the financial capability to host trainings camps more than 3 or 4 times a year, so I decided to train with another ski team that focussed on able-bodied skiers. This gave me the opportunity to train more, but the cost to participate were now shifted onto my shoulders. 

My investments into the sport have paid of, right now I'm part of the Dutch national team. and have competed at the Paralympic Games in Cortina. You may think I have succeeded now, but this experience only gave me more motivation to raise the bar and go for the top.

The hard work and practice are paying off.
To reach the top I need to keep innovating.
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