Laura Antoinette van Leeuwen (born 22 April 1986 in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
) is a Dutch
gymnast. Van Leeuwen competed in the all around, however the uneven bars and vault are her best disciplines.
Career
Her first notable moments came in 1999 when she took part in the Dutch National Championships, finishing 5th overall, 2nd on vault, 2nd on floor and becoming the uneven bars champion, which she also was in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2001, she was Dutch champion on vault.
In 2002, she took part in the International Romanian Championships winning both the beam and vault competitions and was fourth overall. At the 2002 Hypotheekshop Gymnastics Top, she won the uneven bars and in that same year became 5th at the World Championships. In 2003, she was part of the Dutch team that took part in the World Championships in
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, but only finished in 16th position. Van Leeuwen represented the Netherlands at the
2004 Summer Olympics
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), ...
where she finished the 46th place in the women's individual all around competition. That same year she was part of the Dutch team that became 8th at the European Championships. She finished 6th at the
World Gymnastics Championships in
Cottbus on the uneven bars; In
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
she won the uneven bars World Cup and finished 5th in the balance beam and 6th on floor exercise. She also received 8th place in
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
, 5th place in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and an 8th place in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
on the uneven bars at the World Cup events..
Eponymous skill
Van Leeuwen has one eponymous skill listed in the
Code of Points.
Post-Retirement
Laura van Leeuwen is a dentist and snowboard instructor now.
References
External links
Van Leeuwen at the Dutch Olympic ArchiveOfficial website
1986 births
Living people
Dutch female artistic gymnasts
Olympic gymnasts for the Netherlands
Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Gymnasts from The Hague
Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics
20th-century Dutch women
21st-century Dutch women
{{Netherlands-artistic-gymnastics-bio-stub