Highlight: new elite athletes

There are a lot of talented people in many fields on the campus of the TU Delft, including Sports. Every month, we put one of our elite athletes in the spotlight. This month, we introduce three new elite athletes: football player Victoria Pelova, golf player Thimo Thans and draughts player Martijn van IJzendoorn.

Victoria Pelova
Study: Applied Mathematics
Sport: women’s football (ADO Den Haag, Dutch national team under 19)

How are you going to combine study and elite sports?
Organising well, prioritise, starting on time with my exam preparations and communicating clearly about possible problems.

What do you think this year’s highlight will be?
Meeting the requirements of the binding recommendation on continuation of studies (BSA) and winning the World Championships under 20.

Timo Thans
Study: Mechanical Engineering
Sport: Golf

How are you going to combine study and elite sports?
Golf is a very time-intensive sport, it can easily cost eight hours a day. That’s why planning will be crucial this year. I expect I will be studying 40 hours a week and I will be training for 20 or 30 hours a week. In this manner, I hope successfully combine study and elite sports.

What do you think this year’s highlight will be?
It will be my last year in the under 18’s, that’s why I have a real chance to qualify for the European teams in the Jacques Leglise Trophy (Europe under 18 against United Kingdom and Ireland under 18) and the Junior Ryder Cup (Europe under 18 versus United States of America under 18). Qualification for the European team and meeting the requirements of the binding recommendation on continuation of studies (BSA), would definitely be highlights.

Martijn van IJzendoorn

Study: Electrical Engineering

Sport: Draughts

How are you going to combine study and elite sports?
Planning will be the key. I know from my personal experience that I will have little or no time to study during draughts tournaments. After a draughts-intensive period, I focus on my study totally and put draughts on hold.

What do you think this year’s highlight will be?
This year, I focused on the World Championships which will take place from 1 until 15 October. I will do everything within my power to win gold.