Sander Johannes Gerardes Berk (born July 10, 1979 in Nieuwveen) is a Dutch

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

.Athlete biography: Sander Berk
beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 13, 2008 Berk won his first run-bike-run event as a junior on March 26, 1995 in

Langedijk Langedijk (; West Frisian Dutch: ''Langedìk'') is a former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. Langedijk received city rights in 1415. Langedijk and the former municipality of Heer ...

.Sander Berk results
, sanderberk.nl, ret: Aug 13, 2008 That same year he also became Dutch Junior Triathlon Champion in

Waarland Waarland ( West Frisian: ''´t Waarland'') is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Schagen, and lies about 6 km north of Heerhugowaard Heerhugowaard (; West Frisian Dutch: ''Heerhugoweard'', ...

and he won triathlon races in

Aalsmeer Aalsmeer () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its name is derived from the Dutch for eel (''aal'') and lake (''meer''). Aalsmeer is bordered by the Westeinderplassen lake, the largest open water of ...

and Spijkenisse. He added another two run-bike-run wins in

Molenschot Gilze en Rijen () is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. The municipality contains four villages: Rijen, Gilze, Hulten and Molenschot. It is home to the Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Rijen grew in the 19th century due to its leather factories. ...

and

Uithoorn Uithoorn () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Population centres The municipality of Uithoorn consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: De Kwakel and Uithoorn. ''Dutc ...

. In 1996 he won a race in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

and he defended his triathlon title in Aalsmeer. After winning a run-bike-run in Steenwijk and a triathlon in

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wo ...

in 1997 he did not succeed in any race in 1998. In 1999, his last year as a junior he became Dutch run-bike-run champion in

Venray Venray or Venraij (; li, Venroj) is a municipality and a city in Limburg, the Netherlands. The municipality of Venray consists of 14 towns over an area of , with 43,494 inhabitants as of July 2016. About 30,000 of those inhabitants live in th ...

. He also won a run-bike-run in Uithoorn and a triathlon in Enschede. His senior career started well with a triathlon win in

Ouderkerk aan de Amstel Ouderkerk aan de Amstel () is a town in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is largely a part of the municipality of Ouder-Amstel; it lies about 9 km south of Amsterdam. A small part of the town lies in the municipality of Amstelve ...

as well as a run-bike-run win in Uithoorn. He defended his Uithoorn title in 2001 and also won a triathlon in

Vinkeveen Vinkeveen is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Ronde Venen, and lies about 18 km south of Amsterdam. Vinkeveen used to be a separate municipality. It merged with Waverveen in 1841, to form t ...

. His first international triathlon win as a senior came in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in 2002, when he won the race in

Klerksdorp Klerksdorp () is located in the North West Province, South Africa. Klerksdorp, the largest city in the North West Province, is located southeast of Mahikeng, the provincial capital. Klerksdorp was also the first capital of the then Transvaal Repu ...

. Besides becoming Dutch national champion in 2003 he also won two triathlons in Leuven and Aalsmeer. In Aalsmeer he also won an aquathlon and he won another race in

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

. His biggest successes in 2004 were in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

where he won the team triathlon in

Wachtebeke Wachtebeke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Wachtebeke proper, and a smaller town: Overslag. In 2021, Wachtebeke had a total population of 7.769. The total area is 34.53 ...

and the individual triathlon in Antoing. He also succeeded in the Aalsmeer triathlon again. After some injuries in 2005 he returned into competition in 2006 winning two

duathlon Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally. Distance and format ...

s in Klerksdorp and

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, both in South Africa. Again he was able to win the Aalsmeer triathlon and also in that year he and his team mates won the team triathlon in Enschede. 2007 was his best year to date in his career with a total of eight triathlon wins ( Potchefstroom (twice),

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, Aalsmeer,

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions a ...

Midmar Dam Midmar Dam is a combined gravity & earth-fill type dam and recreation area located near Howick and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Boating, swimming, waterskiing, picnicking, and fishing are popular pastimes at Midmar Dam. Each year, the Midma ...

Roodeplaat Dam Roodeplaat Dam is a concrete arch dam situated in South Africa on the Pienaars River (also known along parts of its length as the Moretele River and Moreleta Spruit), a tributary of the Crocodile River, which flows northwards into the Limpopo R ...

and

Vanderbijlpark Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist. Va ...

). He also won the Resolution Health-Energade Series. With a win in

Stein Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to: Places In Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Aust ...

and some other good results in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...

and

Richards Bay Richards Bay ( af, Richardsbaai) is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on a 30 square kilometre lagoon of the Mhlatuze River, which makes it one of the country's largest harbours. Richards Bay also has the deepest natural h ...

Berk qualified himself for the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Career highlights

: Triathlon, Potchefstroom, 22-01-2000 : Triathlon,

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprise ...

, 18-06-2000 : Triathlon, Mol, 10-09-2000 : Triathlon,

, 17-09-2000 : Run-bike-run,

, 22-10-2000 : Triathlon,

Holten Holten (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Hooltn'') is a village in the municipality of Rijssen-Holten in the Dutch province of Overijssel. Holten is located in a forested area just south of the Holterberg, a hill, and is part of the Sallandse Heuvelrug Nat ...

, Dutch Championships, 07-07-2001 : Triathlon,

, 05-08-2001 : Triathlon,

, 26-08-2001 : Run-bike-run, Uithoorn, 14-10-2001 : Triathlon,

, 27-01-2002 : Triathlon, Aalsmeer, 25-08-2002 : Triathlon, Amersfoort, 23-03-2003 : Aquathlon, Aalsmeer, 10-05-2003 : Triathlon,

Geel Geel () is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the ce ...

, 18-05-2003 : Triathlon,

Zundert Zundert () is a municipality and town in the south of the Netherlands bordering Belgium, in the province of North Brabant. Zundert is the birthplace of post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. History The name of Zundert is first mentione ...

, Dutch Championships, 01-06-2003 : Triathlon, Leuven, 08-06-2003 : Triathlon, Aalsmeer, 31-08-2003 : Triathlon,

, 28-02-2004 : Team Triathlon,

, 01-05-2004 : Triathlon, Zundert, Dutch Championships, 06-06-2004 : Triathlon,

Vilvoorde Vilvoorde (, french: Vilvorde ; historically known as ''Filford'' in English) is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo ...

, 21-07-2004 : Triathlon, Antoing, 25-07-2004 : Triathlon, Lough Neagh, 14-08-2004 : Triathlon,

Weiswampach Weiswampach ( or (locally) ) is a commune and small town in northern Luxembourg, in the canton of Clervaux. , the town of Weiswampach, which lies in the north of the commune, has a population of 648. Other towns within the commune include Be ...

, 22-08-2004 : Triathlon, Aalsmeer, 29-08-2004 : Triathlon, Mol, 05-09-2004 : Triathlon, Richard's Bay, 05-03-2005 : Triathlon,

Meerhout Meerhout () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Meerhout proper. In 2021, Meerhout had a total population of 10,279. The ...

, 29-05-2005 : Triathlon,

, 25-06-2005 : Triathlon, Aalsmeer, 28-08-2005 : Triathlon, Potchefstroom, 14-01-2006 : Triathlon,

, 05-03-2006 : Duathlon,

, 25-03-2006 : Duathlon, Pretoria, 09-04-2006 : Team Triathlon, Enschede, 07-05-2006 : Team Triathlon,

Gladbeck Gladbeck () is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Gladbeck is quite a young town, first recognised 21 July 1919 when it was given town rights. The town established itself around five farming villages, Br ...

, 21-05-2006 : Triathlon,

, Dutch Championships, 01-07-2006 : Triathlon, Aalsmeer, 26-08-2006 : Triathlon, Clanwilliam, 30-09-2006 : Triathlon,

Witbank Witbank (), officially Emalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wa ...

, 08-10-2006 : Triathlon, Potchefstroom, 22-10-2006 : Triathlon, Port Elizabeth, 05-11-2006 : Triathlon,

, 26-11-2006 : Triathlon,

, 03-12-2006 : Triathlon, Potchefstroom, 13-02-2007 : Triathlon, Champs Langebaan, 03-03-2007 : Triathlon, Amsterdam, 10-06-2007 : Triathlon, Aalsmeer, 28-08-2007 : Triathlon,

, 21-10-2007 : Triathlon,

, 28-10-2007 : Triathlon, Potchefstroom, 11-11-2007 : Triathlon,

, 25-11-2007 : Triathlon, Vanderbijlpark, 02-12-2007 : Triathlon, Resolution Health-Energade Series, 10-12-2007 : Triathlon,

, 23-02-2008 : Triathlon,

, Dutch Championships, 21-06-2008 :31e Olympic Triathlon Beijing, 19-08-2008

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berk, Sander 1979 births Living people People from Nieuwkoop Dutch male triathletes Triathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic triathletes for the Netherlands Sportspeople from South Holland