Eleven VUB Students Compete in the Olympic Games This Summer

A team of eleven VUB students is heading to the Olympic Games in Paris. The sporting event will take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024. Most of these athletes have a top sports status at VUB, which enables them to combine studying with sports. Currently, around a hundred elite athletes are combining their sports careers with a VUB education. On the eve of the Games, we spoke with volleyball player Sarah van Aalen, sailor Lucas Claeyssens, 800m runner Pieter Sisk, and swimmer Roos Van Otterdijk. "When I feel a lot of pressure from sports, I enjoy the moments I can study."

"I don't know if I would have pursued elite sports if I couldn't have done this study."

Sarah van Aalen plays in the Dutch volleyball team. She studies Criminology in Brussels.

"In the Netherlands, you can study criminology in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, or Leiden, but attendance at lectures is mandatory there. Since I have been playing in clubs in Turkey and Germany over the past few years, that was not feasible. At VUB, this mandatory attendance does not apply to elite athletes. It is possible to negotiate with the professor to, for example, complete group assignments alone. They are also very flexible and accommodating. I had one exam in January, but it was difficult to travel back and forth from Turkey just for that. It's not only bad for the environment but also very time-consuming. I was able to take that exam online. I am finishing up my last courses of the second year but have also started the third. Normally, you would have about ten courses per year; I do five. It's slower, but it works."

Pieter Sisk will run the 800m at the Games. He is in his third year of Communication Sciences. He manages to balance sports and studies well.

"I have the privilege of being under the care of the Sports and Study Coordinator, Professor Koen De Brandt, who arranges a lot for me. Whether it's moving exams or when I want to complete a group assignment alone, he helps me by contacting the relevant professors. I can attend many lectures from home. I moved two exams to August to focus on the Olympic Games. After that, I should have my bachelor's degree."

"I didn't expect we'd be going to the Olympic Games already."

Lucas Claeyssens is studying for a Civil Engineer at VUB and will participate in the sailing competitions starting on 3 August in Marseille. "We've been here since 20 June with two boats, preparing until the Games start. It's very important for us to know the conditions in certain spots at sea. Everywhere you sail, the wind can stand slightly differently, and the more time we have to prepare, the better. I sail with Eline Verstraelen in the mixed catamaran class."

"I've been studying for three years and have now completed the first part of my second year. It takes some discipline to combine the study, but ultimately it works out. I also hadn't expected that we would already be going to the Olympic Games. We started the campaign for the 2028 Games, but because we sailed a lot, it progressed well, and we could qualify now. That made it a bit harder for the studies. I don't have to attend a large part of the lectures. I try to plan so that I can do at least half. The professor, of course, wants it to remain fair compared to other students. I always get replacement tasks, and with group assignments, I make sure that I write more of the report at the end. It's not the most fun task, but that way, I can make up for what I missed."

Gold, silver, and bronze in the luggage

At the time of this interview, Roos Vanotterdijk is temporarily stuck at Zurich Airport due to a cancelled flight. Fortunately, she has three medals in her luggage, which she won last weekend at the European Swimming Championships in Belgrade: gold, silver, and bronze.

What has the elite sports status enabled you to do?

"A lot. I was able to move all exams to before the EC so I could focus fully on my sport in the run-up to the Games."

What have you brought from your sport to your studies, or vice versa?

"It's my first year at university, and I haven't taken many study points yet. But studying is often a welcome distraction."

What are your expectations for Paris?

"Honestly, I don't really have any. I try to put down my best possible performance and ideally want to swim personal best times. The only goal is to be the best version of myself there."

Did you have this mindset when you went to the EC?

"There, the only goal was to swim the Olympic limit in the 100m butterfly. I had already swum it but unfortunately a week before the qualification period. Just a bit too early. I had already achieved the limit for the 100m backstroke. And because I wanted to go to Paris for multiple events, it was a long road to rebuild. At the end of May, I swam 58.50 in Barcelona, and then I started to believe it was possible. In the semi-finals at the EC, I was 3/100ths under and so the mission was accomplished. All the pressure fell off me, and it didn't matter so much anymore."

Sports or studying?

"At this point in my life, it's definitely sports because I do everything for it and my studies are done in function of my sport. But after swimming, I will need my studies, so it's equally important. In swimming, you just don't earn much; it's not like with football."

Roos starts the 100m butterfly on 27 July at 11 am and the 100m butterfly on 29 July at 11 am. The finals will be swum respectively on 28 July at 8.45 pm and on 30 July at 8.57 pm.