Pieter-Jan Postma (born the 10th of January 1982 in

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

) is a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

from the Netherlands and Olympic coach. He represented the Netherlands three times at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

and is a multiple National, European and World Champion. Postma starts sailing in an Optimist when he is seven years old. He graduated as a Maritime Officer and Technical Business Administration before participating in the 2008

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 ...

. During these games, Pieter-Jan Postma is 26 and takes fourteenth place. During the Olympic Games in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

he reached the fourth place. He also participates in the Olympic Games in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

and reaches the tenth place. He is a member of the Royal Water Sports Association Sneek.

Personal life

Postma spent the first seventeen years of his life in Terkaple, a tiny village in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

. He has a sister who is four years older and a sister who is two years younger. As a child, he spent a lot of time playing different sports: football,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skatin ...

, and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

. After secondary school, Postma started a study for

Naval Officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

on Terschelling in 2000, which he completed in 2005. From then on Postma focuses entirely on his sailing career. In 2010 he takes a break from sailing and completes his studies in Industrial Engineering and Management in Leeuwarden. Postma currently lives in Friesland.

Sailing career

Early sailing career

At the age of thirteen, Postma participates in his first European Championship Optimist and at the age of fifteen he sailed at the World Championship in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. In 1998, at the age of sixteen, Postma switched to the

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

and, just like in 1999 and 2000, again sails at the World Cup. In 2000 he participates in the ISAF World Championship in Sydney. He reaches 10th place. After returning from his internship at sea, Postma started preparing for the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Postma wins the national selection, but misses the Olympic qualification. In 2004 he became Dutch Laser champion for the first time.

Adult sailing career

In 2005 he made the switch to the Finn class. In this phase of his sailing career, Postma is in search how to fully utilize his potential and is on the look for the right rhythm and suitable partners. This quest provides him with a strong foundation to enter the big competitions that are upcoming in these days. He qualified three times for the Olympic Games (2008, 2012 and 2016) and achieved good results during the Pre-Olympics: he won silver twice (2007 and 2015) and bronze once (2011). This makes Postma a favorite for the stage. However, Postma did not manage to gain a medal; in 2016 he lost his golden medal at the last buoy and eventually finished fourth. He also returns home without a medal at the other Olympic Games. Postma does win many titles at World Cups, European Championships, National Championships and World Cups. In 2000, 2007 and 2011 he won silver at the World Cup, in 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2019 bronze at the World Cup. In 2022 he won gold twice at the World Cup and at the European Championship in 2016 he won the gold medal. In addition, Postma became Dutch Champion eleven times and won a World Cup six times. Postma's sailing career is characterized by continuous development and innovation. This ultimately brings him the gold medal at the 2022 World Cup. It also gives him a strong foundation for being a coach after his sailing career in the Finn class.

Coaching

Since 2019, Postma has been working as a coach in the sailing world. In 2020 and 2021 he was coach of the Dutch Sail team that sails in the 69F. With the 69F, the team led by Postma wins the Gold Cup in 2020 and 2021. Next to these medals the team wins eight other events. In 2019 he coached the Hungarian Zsombor Berecz, who qualified for the Olympic Games (Finn class) under the leadership of Postma and won bronze at the World Cup. Postma also coached the Turkish yacht racer Alican Kaynar who wins the Olympic Games (Finn class).

Sailing projects

In 2016, Postma founded Sailing Team NL with the aim of stimulating more cooperation in the Dutch sailing world. He uses his experiences as a professional sailor. As part of this project, he purchased two M32s in 2017 and competed worldwide with a match-race team. In 2018, as race director and manager, he organized several events around this project, many of which where located in Valencia. With the M32 the European series where won in 2018, in 2019 the round of Texel was won. In 2020, Postma continues these collaborative projects. He invites Sailing Holland, Dutch Sail and the water sports association to work together on Youth America's Cup. This project is growing into a project in which the 69F is sailed.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Postma, Pieter-Jan Living people 1982 births Sportspeople from Heerenveen Dutch male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Finn Olympic sailors of the Netherlands Laser Radial class sailors Laser class sailors Sailors at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Finn