Elles Maria Leferink (born 14 November 1976 in

Weerselo Weerselo is a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is a part of the municipality of Dinkelland, and lies about 6 km northwest of Oldenzaal. Weerselo was a separate municipality until 2001 when it became a part of Dinkelland. Overv ...

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

) is a

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, who represented her native country at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, finishing in fifth place. Leferink was a leading youngster in the Netherlands national team that won the gold medal at the 1995 European Championship by defeating

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

3–0 in the final. Among other awards she was elected "best player of Europe" aged 19 in 1995 and "best server" at the World Championship 1998 and the European Championship in 2003. She retired in 2007, becoming a mother.

Individual awards

* 1995 CEV "European Volleyball Player of the Year" * 1998 World Championship "Best Server" * 2003 European Championship "Best Server"

References

*
Dutch Olympic Committee
1976 births Dutch women's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball players of the Netherlands Sportspeople from Overijssel People from Weerselo Living people {{Netherlands-volleyball-bio-stub