Epke Zonderland
Dutch gymnast
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Key Takeaways
- Epke Jan Zonderland (born 16 April 1986) is a Dutch artistic gymnast and the 2012 Olympic gold medallist on high bar.
- He is nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman.
- He started gymnastics at the age of four.
- Zonderland enrolled to study medicine at the University of Groningen in 2006.
- Gymnastics career 2004 Zonderland reached his first international success as a junior in 2004.
Epke Jan Zonderland (born 16 April 1986) is a Dutch artistic gymnast and the 2012 Olympic gold medallist on high bar. He is a 4-time Olympian (2008–20) and has also taken 3 World Championships golds on high bar at the 2013, 2014 and 2018 World Championships, the first man to secure this feat on that apparatus. He is nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman.”
Early life
Zonderland was born on 16 April 1986 in Lemmer, Netherlands. He started gymnastics at the age of four. He has two brothers (Herre and Johan) and one sister (Geeske) who are also international gymnasts.
Zonderland enrolled to study medicine at the University of Groningen in 2006. He took 12 years to complete his degree in medicine as he was pursuing his career in gymnastics at the same time, and qualified as a medical doctor in 2018.
Gymnastics career
2004
Zonderland reached his first international success as a junior in 2004. At the European Junior Championships in Ljubljana he was fourth in the all-around event and he won a silver medal on the horizontal bar. That same year he also became Dutch national all-around champion by taking over the title from his older brother Herre.
2005–2006
In 2005 at the World Championships in Melbourne, Zonderland and Jeffrey Wammes were the first ever Dutch gymnasts in the history of the sport to qualify for the all-around final. Zonderland eventually ended up in the 11th position. In that same year at the European Championships he finished 15th, which was a disappointment considering his World Championship result.
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