Epke Zonderland
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Epke Jan Zonderland (born 16 April 1986) is a Dutch artistic
gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...
and the 2012 Olympic gold medallist on
high bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syste ...
. He is a 4-time Olympian (2008–20) and has also taken 3 World Championships golds on high bar at the
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,
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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 Lemmer () is a town in the municipality of De Fryske Marren, in the Dutch province of Friesland. Lemmer lies adjacent to the IJsselmeer and the Frisian Lakes and is one of Friesland's best-known surface water sports locations. Lemmer is a bustlin ...
, 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 Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
at the
University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...
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 Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...
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 Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Zonderland and
Jeffrey Wammes Jeffrey Wammes (born 24 April 1987) is a former internationally competitive Dutch gymnast. Specializing in the floor exercise and vault, Wammes began competing on the elite level in 2005. Wammes trained alongside Yuri van Gelder at the Flik-Flak ...
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. After his success in 2005 he continued in 2006 by reaching the final of the horizontal bar competition during the European Championships in
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, where he was 6th. At the World Cup meeting in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
on the same discipline he won the silver medal and in
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Zonderland claimed his first World Cup win and the gold medal. That year he also became Dutch national all-around champion for the second time in his career.


2007-2008

In 2007 he competed in both the European and the World Championships. At the European Championships in Amsterdam he finished sixth in the individual all-around (IAA) event, the highest ever position by a Dutch gymnast. During the same Championships he also won the bronze medal on the parallel bars. Later, in September at the World Championships in Stuttgart Zonderland finished 4th on the horizontal bar, which earned him a qualification 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 ...
. Later in 2007 he won his second World Cup event at the horizontal bar in Glasgow. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Zonderland reached the high bar final in which he finished seventh.


2009–2011

In 2009, he won the silver medal on high bar at the
2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 41st World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held at The O2 Arena in London from 12 to 18 October 2009. Similar to the 2005 World Championships, there were no team competitions. Individual all-around and event finals were contested. C ...
. At the 2010 World Championships in Rotterdam, he earned another silver medal on high bar. In 2011 he became European champion for the first time.


2012 Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Zonderland won an Olympic gold medal in the
high bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syste ...
with a personal best score of 16.533. His routine included a triple combo of Cassina-Kovacs-Kolman, then the most difficult release combination. His performance was regarded by many as one of the top performances of the 2012 games. The first Dutch gymnast (male or female) to win an individual Olympic medal, he also won the first Olympic gymnastics medal in 84 years for the Netherlands.


2013–2014

At the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Zonderland became world champion for the first time. He performed a double combo of Cassina-Kovacs followed by Kolman-Gaylord 2 with a stuck double-twisting double layout dismount. In 2014, Zonderland won the championship title again on high bar at the 2014 European Championships in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
, Bulgaria. He also successfully defended his world title at the 2014 World Gymnastics Championships in Nanning, China.


2015–2017

In April 2015, Zonderland failed to defend the European title after falling off the high bar. In August 2015, he fell in training, which left him with a concussion and an injury to his thumb. The injury curtailed his training times and he failed to make the final to defend his world title at the 2015 World Championship in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. In 2016, Zonderland sprained his fingers again during training in June, just before the 2016 Summer Olympics. He failed to defend his Olympic title at the Olympics after falling in his
high bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syste ...
routine. On 16–17 September 2017, Zonderland competed at the 2017 Paris Challenge Cup in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
where he won gold in the high bar individual event, scoring 14.800. He then competed at the 2017 World Championships in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
. In the high bar event final, he caught the bar with just one hand after a flight element, but managed to stay on with only his right hand to swing into a giant despite glaring leg separation, and successfully finished his routine. He earned a silver medal, scoring 14.233.


2018–2019

On August 9–12, 2018, Zonderland competed at the 2018 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, where he won the silver medal—thanks heavily to his top D-score of 6.8 that was at least ½ a point more than the next highest finalist's D-score—behind Oliver Hegi of Switzerland. At the 2018 World Championships in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
,
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
, Zonderland won gold on the high bar at the age of 32. His routine included two double release combinations, a Cassina to Kovacs, followed by a Kolman-Gaylord 2. He became the first man to win three high bar gold medals at the World Championships. Zonderland competed down under at the 2019 Melbourne World Cup in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia, from February 21 to 24, 2019. He and Hidetaka Miyachi of Japan scored identical highest combined scores of 14.733 in the individual horizontal bar apparatus final. However, after activating the tiebreak procedure, Zonderland was relegated to the silver medal because Miyachi's execution score number was higher than his own. Also, between April 10 and 14, 2019, at the
European Artistic Gymnastics Championships European Artistic Gymnastics Championships part of European Gymnastics Championships may refer to: * European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships * European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships * European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnasti ...
–an
FIG The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
championships held in Szczecin,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
—Zonderland won his third European gold medal in the individual horizontal bar apparatus final. However, he failed to qualify for the same event final at the
2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held in Stuttgart, Germany from October 4–13, 2019. The championships took place at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, and was the third time the city of Stuttgart hosted the event following th ...
in Stuttgart after an error in his routine.


2020/2021 Olympics

At the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...
in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, Japan, Zonderland did not qualify for the individual horizontal bar finals after ranking 23rd with a score of 13.833 due to a fall in the qualification rounds.


Honours and awards

Zonderland was named
Dutch Sportsman of the year The Dutch Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year are chosen annually by Dutch athletes from a shortlist compiled by sports journalists. The elections are organized by the Dutch Olympic Committee. All the winners receive a Jaap Eden Award to reme ...
in 2009 for his silver medal in high bar at the 2009 World Championships. He was selected Sportsman of the Year for a second time in 2011 after he won the European Championships, then again for the next two consecutive years after he won the 2012 Olympic and the 2013 World championships. He was made a Knight of the
Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
after he won the gold medal at the
2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.


Personal life

Zonderland married Linda Steen in September 2016. Their son, Bert Eize, was born on 13 October 2018, and a second son Jan was born on 1 April 2021. On November 1 2022 their third child, daughter Sophie, was born.


Competitive history


References


External links

* * * * *
The gold medal routine at the 2012 Olympics

The gold medal routine at the 2013 World Championships


{{DEFAULTSORT:Zonderland, Epke 1986 births Living people Dutch male artistic gymnasts Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in gymnastics Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic gymnasts of the Netherlands Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships People from De Fryske Marren Sportspeople from Friesland World champion gymnasts European champions in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Dutch people 20th-century Dutch people