She looks at the gem again when asked. Maria Verschoor already had two Olympic medals, but the gold one she now wears around her neck, with a piece of the Eiffel Tower even on it, is very pretty. “Look, I don’t think it’s normal. I’m very happy with it.”
Verschoor doesn’t jump when she says it, shortly after winning the final, but the more she talks, the calmer she becomes. How different was the final, which was nerve-racking for the fans in the stands but also for herself. For a long time it looked like the Netherlands would lose, for the first time in a major tournament since 2016.
The tension was everywhere, he says. “It’s always stressful. And even though the outside world always thinks we’ll win, it doesn’t really feel that way. We were 1-0 down for a long time, right? And at one point I also thought: oh, it won’t happen, right?”
Because the Netherlands were still behind until nine minutes before the end. The score was only equalised by a penalty corner by Yibbi Jansen. Verschoor, who was not a great goalscorer in the Dutch national team, scored one of the four penalty kicks and quickly hugged goalkeeper Anne Veenendaal, who saved three of the Chinese shots and became the heroine of the evening.
Gold is also a reward.
There was another reason why she was so happy. The gold was also a reward for a process the team had to go through, after it became clear after Tokyo that the atmosphere in the team under then coach Alyson Annan had deteriorated. Since then, the whole culture has changed under new coach Paul van Ass. No more hierarchical structure, more attention to a healthy sporting climate.
Gold permanently erased that history from Tokyo. Nothing less than gold would have done that. Verschoor: “You also want to prove that you can perform like this. And if you don’t get gold, you get the feeling that people think that wouldn’t be possible. I’m very happy that I was able to prove that we can win like this.”
According to Verschoor, the culture that now existed within the team made the tournament special. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I feel like everyone can be themselves. Free, happy, themselves. We let each other have fun, everyone can do their own thing. You don’t have to wear a uniform, you don’t have to walk on tiptoe.”
It’s fun and good now.
Then he verbally hits the brakes. Boy, why would he compare it to the period a few years ago? “We don’t have to go back. So that gets emphasized again. I just want to say it was fun and good now. I enjoyed it a lot with everyone. It flew by so fast.”
In recent months, she described in Trouw how she was busy with the Games almost every day, including Friday’s final. Now that it’s done, she wants to let it all go. “It’s all done. I’m going to do whatever I feel like doing. I’m going to party, have fun, just do fun things.”
Then he looks back at the medal and weighs it in his hand. “This is great, isn’t it? Really great.”
Yibbi Jansen: “We still don’t realize what this really means”
Yibbi Jansen, who equalised the Netherlands in the final with her penalty corner, is not sure what exactly the gold medal means to the team. “I don’t think we can fully appreciate yet what it really means that we won gold today. Especially since the last few years have not been easy. Players have resigned, the coach has been changed. These were times when a lot of things changed.”
Jansen himself temporarily retired from international competition in 2021. He only returned after Tokyo. “Then it didn’t feel good to be there anymore. I think I made progress after that. I have regained my self-confidence. I found the fun again. And that’s the most important thing.”
Gold was the best reward for that process. “So I completely agree with Maria. It should have been nothing but gold. But yes, it has to be done. And now that we have it, we are going to have a big party together.”