Lieke Wevers

Lieke Wevers
Country represented  Netherlands
Born (1991-09-17) September 17, 1991
Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands
Residence Heerenveen, Friesland, Netherlands
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Weight 54 kg (119 lb)[2]
Discipline Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team 2009–present (NED)
Club Bosan Ton Almelo
Head coach(es) Vincent Wevers
Music 2015–16: "Nuvole Bianche" by Ludovico Einaudi

Lieke Wevers (born 17 September 1991) is a Dutch artistic gymnast. She competed internationally as a senior from 2009 to 2016. She was the first Dutch woman to win a European title in gymnastics: at the 2015 European Games, she won the gold medal on the balance beam and was the bronze medalist with the Dutch team, in the individual all-around final, and on floor exercise.[2] She also competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Personal life and training

Wevers was born on 17 September 1991, in Leeuwarden. She is six minutes younger than her fraternal twin, Sanne, who is an Olympic gold medalist.[3] They are both members of the Dutch national gymnastics team and are coached by their father, Vincent.[4]

In 1992, Wevers 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 Top Gymnastics Eastern Netherlands (Dutch: Topturnen Oost-Nederland). Her parents helped turn it into a high-level sports facility called BosanTON. In 2013, Vincent Wevers had an argument with the management of the facility and was fired. Ultimately, the twins moved with their father to Heerenveen to train, while their mother stayed in Oldenzaal.

Lieke studies psychology and speaks Dutch, English, German, and French.[2]

Senior gymnastics career

2009–2012

Wevers' international debut was at the 2009 Cottbus World Cup, where she won silver on beam behind Marta Pihan-Kulesza[5] of Poland and finished eighth on the uneven bars.[6] However, at the 2009 European Championships, she tore her ACL and did not compete for another two years.[4]

Wevers made her comeback to competition at the 2011 World Championships. In the qualification round, she competed on bars, beam, and floor[7] to help the Dutch team finish in 13th. This result qualified them for the 2012 Olympic Test Event, but at the Test Event, the team finished in eighth and did not qualify for the Olympics.[8][9] Afterward, Wevers had surgery on both of her wrists.[4]

2014–present

Wevers returned to competition in 2014. She competed at the 2014 European Championships with her sister, and they helped the Netherlands finish ninth.[10] At the Dutch National Championships, she finished 11th in the all-around and fifth on beam.[11] At the 2014 World Championships, Lieke helped the Dutch team finish tenth.[12]

At the 2015 European Games, Wevers won a gold medal on the balance beam and bronze medals with the Dutch team, in the all-around, and on floor exercise.[2] At the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she helped the Netherlands finish eighth in the team competition. Individually, she was 13th in the all-around and eighth on floor exercise.[13]

In July 2016, Wevers was named to the Dutch team for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and her sister Sanne also made the team.[14] She helped the Netherlands finish seventh in the team competition and also qualified to the individual all-around final, where she finished 20th.[13]

Competitive history

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2009Cottbus World Cup8th2nd
Moscow World Stars1st
2012Olympic Test Event8th
2014Dutch National Championships11th5th
AUT-FRA-NED Friendly1st
2015European Games3rd3rd1st3rd
World Championships8th13th8th
2016Olympic Test Event3rd
Dutch National Championships10th
Olympic Games7th20th

References

  1. "This is Lieke". Gymnastics with Sanne & Lieke. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Athletes - Lieke WEVERS". Baku 2015 1st European Games. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  3. "History". Gymnastics with Sanne and Lieke. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Turner, Amanda (12 May 2014). "IG Online Interview: Lieke and Sanne Wevers (Netherlands)". International Gymnast Magazine Online. International Gymnast Magazine. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  5. "Results Balance Beam Finale 2009 Cottbus World Cup" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  6. "Results Uneven Bars Finale 2009 Cottbus World Cup" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  7. "All-Around Results Women's Qualification" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  8. "Gymnastics Artistic Women Qualification Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  9. Rocha, Felipe (11 January 2012). "Equipe feminina de ginástica se recupera de fiascos recentes e se classifica para a Olimpíada". UOL 2012 Olympics (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  10. "30th European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Team Championships Seniors Qualifications for CIII & CIV" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  11. "Wedstrijduitslag meerkamp" (PDF). Gymnastics Results (in Dutch). 21 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  12. "Women's Qualification Team Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  13. 1 2 "WEVERS Lieke". fig-gymnastics.com. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  14. "Turnsters Lieke en Sanne Wevers officieel naar Olympische Spelen". RTV Oost. 2016-07-10. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
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