Meet the new elite athletes (1)

News - 18 October 2018 - Communication

TU Delft Campus is brimming with talent in many areas, including sport. In the first round of introductions in this academic year, we get to know the new top-level sportspeople at TU Delft: cyclist Rozemarijn Ammerlaan, hockey player Margot van Hecking Colenbrander and curler Tobias van den Hurk.

Rozemarijn Ammerlaan

Rozemarijn is a cyclist. She currently competes in the APB junior women's development team. In September 2018, she won gold in the Women’s Junior World Time Trials in Innsbruck.

How will you combine study with top-level sport?
"Self-study plays an important role because I spend a lot of time at training camps or competitions that last several days. That makes careful planning and organisation essential! Mechanical Engineering also involves a lot of group work for which it’s important to communicate properly and share out tasks." 

What do you hope to achieve this year in the field of sport?
"I've already achieved my biggest goal this year – winning the Women’s Junior World Time Trials. In 2019 , my aim is to successfully complete the transition to the elite category."

Rozemarijn Ammerlaan

Age: 18
Degree programme: BSc in Mechanical Engineering
Sport: cycling

Margot van Hecking Colenbrander

Age: 18
Degree programme: BSc in Industrial Design Engineering
Sport: hockey

Margot van Hecking Colenbrander

Margot van Hecking Colenbrander plays hockey for the HDM (Haagsche Delftsche Mixed). In the summer of 2017, she won the European Under-18s tournament in Barcelona. In 2018, Margot was named sportswoman of the year in Leidschendam-Voorburg.

How will you combine study with top-level sport?
"I combine top-level sports with study by setting priorities, planning properly and keeping up with my academic work. The many contact hours are quite challenging, but things have worked out well so far. My training sessions always take precedence – I really live for my sport."

What do you hope to achieve this year in the field of sport?
"My main aim this year is to become a regular in the Women’s Team 1, which means playing at the highest level. It would also be really amazing if I could play in the Dutch Under-21s in next summer’s European Championships. That’s my other main goal for this academic year."

Tobias van den Hurk

Tobias plays curling at the Curling Club PWA Zoetermeer. He is also part of the NCB (Nederlandse Curling Bond) Talent Programme. At the start of 2018, Tobias competed in the Junior B Curling World Championship.

How will you combine study with top-level sport?
"I intend to successfully combine my degree programme and sport by planning effectively. I always try to work ahead as far as possible before major competitions. The fact that my top-level sport activities mean I won't complete my degree programme within the nominal period is something I've already factored in."

What do you hope to achieve this year in the field of sport?
"For me and my team, this is an in-between year. We'll be playing in different teams. This means there will be several times when I play a different role in the team than usual. I hope to learn a lot from it and gain some valuable experience."

Tobias van den Hurk

Age: 17 years
Degree programme: BSc in Computer Science Engineering
Sport: curling