Qualified as out of what is due to an Achilles injury the previous year, the Dutch athlete chose the perfect time to reach a career peak, a fierce ending that drives it to gold. Welcome to the Netherlands house brought an unexpected blow along the way, he thought
When leaving 1991, I knew that it had to be patient that next year and not try to hurry things, but I also had to qualify for Barcelona. There were many good careers in Europe, but they were more techniques.
I knew I needed to obtain the qualification standard, so I had to plan, go to a race in France where I knew it would be fast, just to get it out of the way. It was my training, because I was always a bit prone to injuries, but I could constantly train for a couple of months, then it would be fine.
Having an Olympic Games closer to the Netherlands was great, but made no difference to my mother. A plane had never passed before and at one time he told me that he had bought tickets, but only for the 800 m final. They spent months before, but I said: “Buy tickets for heats too.” She said: “No, it’s too much expense.”
That was part because I comes from a family of traditional athletics. She really didn’t have an idea or how it worked. I made many friends come to Barcelona. My athletic life and my social life were quite separate, even if [my friends and family] They all supported me a lot.
I won 10 of my 11 races that year, so I arrived at the Olympic Games with a plan: it was about making sure to be in the final, in the 800m, sometimes good athletes come out in heat or semifinals because or Wong’s tactics. I thought: “When I am in the final, then everything is possible.” He really didn’t have the medal, but he was certainly consulting that he had the opportunity for one.
Sometimes, 800 are slowly executed and [if that had happened] Then I wouldn’t make the bone winning. My feeling was to continue with a race as long as possible and then I was kicking. I always had the mental strength to go quite deep, because the part between 600m and the end is not fun for any 800 m corridor, so you must stay as relaxed as possible in that part and still be able to go from 200 Ma 200 Ma 200 m.
I knew that, while I was there with 120 meters, I was confident, not to win, but to be disputed. I knew when my kick could start and, in the middle of the final curve, I passed Kovacs inside and I thought: “There is one missing.” And when we left the curve I felt strong. I felt I could accelerate.
But I had to choose: I go out or stay inside? She leaned to leave, that’s why I waited a little and bit inside. It was a decisive moment, because I also felt that it could leave if necessary and obtain the same result. I had enough confidence. Sometimes you feel you are faster than the ethers. You feel you can still accelerate.
When I finished, I felt so much surprise for victory: it was more the surprise about time. I felt a lot of relief and exhaustion. I was completely concentrated before the race and I barely remember anything about it. You could see that complete concentration on my face
in the end.
When I returned to the Netherlands, there was a lot of celebration, but it also cost me money. He was in an inempleal background and had done it very well and cleanly. I argued this with the government and said: “Yes, we support you.” According to the system in Holland at that time, I obtained support and also had an agreement that, as soon as I was going to earn money, I would inform and then the help would be reduced. And that was totally good.
But they had already sent me a letter while I was still in Barcelona to take her and that was really upset for me, because I felt that I should have had the opportunity to go there and tell them: “Hey, I have gone more.”
When you are an Olympic champion, it’s not like, suddenly, your bank account is loaded. I thought the moment was so bad, so that Alreamy had a letter from the government in my spine while I was still in the games. Everything was a very strange way to do so.
But I wasn’t too sad about that. The Dutch form was a bit. On the one hand, you can do it well but, on the other hand, you should not change. You should stay the same. Just because you have a gold medal, don’t be too important. We are always on both sides. But, the morning I got home, I still couldn’t walk down the street to my house because I was full of people I celebrated. I could never complain about that.