Lieke Wevers (NED) is back!

After a long period of absence, Lieke Wevers returned to competing on the international stage. Lisa Deen of Dutch Gymnastics spoke to her about the struggles she endured and how she’s looking at the future now.

Dutch Gymnastics: How did it feel to return to the competition floor?

Wevers: “It was especially very cool to be there again. I was tense all day. Not because I doubted my ability, but because it was quite awkward to be back on the competition floor. Ultimately, I can only be very satisfied with the progress of the competition. It was a good first step."

Dutch Gymnastics: When did you actually hear that you were allowed to participate in Ghent?

Wevers: “A week in advance I did a test competition during training. Gerben (the national coach, ed.) was also there. That measuring moment went well and therefore it was decided that I would participate in Ghent. For me it was good to experience competition on the way to the Dutch Championship, because then I really want to go there”

Dutch Gymnastics: Do you also look further ahead?

Wevers: “At first I worked with small goals. It was important for me to first find pleasure and passion again. Then I started to take steps and look ahead. This year there is a mission for all of us and that is to get a team ticket for Tokyo. I prefer to be part of the team that gets that ticket. If I continue like this, I think I can be of good value to the team. I have faith in that too.”

Dutch Gymnastics: Are you now different on the competition floor?

Wevers: “I have always been someone who enjoys this, a die-hard fan of this sport. But that feeling had disappeared. I was completely upset about fighting. That burnout was hell for me. I could find support from the people around me, but I also felt very alone. I really had to learn to listen to myself and do the right things to get out. Fortunately, I have now regained myself.”

 

Dutch Gymnastics: What was the hardest part of it?

Wevers: “Recognising my burnout. I did not know that I was in trouble, no matter how many signals I received. Mentally I have always been very strong, but perhaps too strong. I completely exhausted myself and crossed boundaries that I should not have crossed. I had no idea that I just burned myself off more and more.

It started in the year of the Olympic Games. In the preparation I never got to the fitness I needed, that put a lot of mental pressure. For me there was only one option: that it would be fine. And that was it. Just in time I was good enough to do a nice Games. In the year after the Games I competed in another World Championships. I only did beam, for the other apparatus I was not fit enough anymore. I hoped I could pick up the all-around again afterwards. But actually, I only went backwards. I really was spent.

The first phase, after acknowledging my burnout, was therefore very crazy. I had to learn not to do anything. "

Dutch Gymnastics: How did you deal with that?

Wevers: “For a long time it felt very passive: all the time I was in the hall thirty hours a week and suddenly I had to learn to switch off. That was difficult because I was always on. Had to do more, more, more. I was very restless at first, but I really had to rest. There was no other way to solve this. That was also a kind of training in the end. "

Dutch Gymnastics: When did you know that you were ready again?

Wevers: “When I slowly started building up again and finally chose to go to Tenerife for six weeks, I really learned to listen to my feelings and my body. I had to learn how to steer and make choices, and enjoy every little step. It worked.

In the meantime, I dare to lead myself back to the goal I have set. I am back on the floor with confidence: the wheel is working again. That should ultimately lead to Stuttgart."

 

Best of luck to Lieke and thank you for the interview to Dutch Gymnastics!