- Pieter Jan Postma
Pieter Jan Postma (born
January 10 ,1982 inHeerenveen ) is a Dutch sailor.The first seventeen years of his life Postma spends in
Terkaple , a tiny village inFriesland . He has a four year older sister and a two year younger sister. [http://www.pieterjanpostma.com/index.php?page=simplepage&action=show&id=3 Pieter Jan Postma bio] , pieterjanpostma.com, ret: Aug 6, 2008] He was an outdoor interested kid and spent a lot of time playing football,tennis ,speed skating andsailing .At the age of fifteen he took part in his first European Championship which he sailed in the
Optimist class and in the same year he also took part in the World Championship inDublin . He switched to theLaser Radial class and already came up with some decent results on that level, however international results were not as notible yet. A year later he makes another change to theLaser class and during this period he spends 50 percent of his time on sailing atTerschelling . In December 2000 he participated in the World Junior Laser Championship inSydney and reached the 10th position. At the Senior World Championship he finished in 58th position and at the European Championship he reached the 21st spot. Between September 2002 and February 2003 he spend six months at sea due to an internship for school. After his return he weighted 86 kg, which was 8 kg more than before the internship and he had to go on a diet and then started to prepare for the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens .Postma decided to go to
Australia for four months and temporary set his education on hold. Together withTom Slingby (the 2007 World Champion) andMichael Blackburn (the 2006 World Champion) he trained every day on the Australian waters and at his return in the Netherlands he beated all his Dutch opponents during the selection races. During the World Championship he came within reach for an Olympic ticket with only one more race to go. Eventually this was the crucial race as he only finished in 13th position that race, which threw him down in the rankings and as a result he missed the Olympic qualification. Despite the failure he still participated and won in theSneekweek and he also became Dutch National Champion. He tried to qualify to become a crew member during theVolvo Ocean Race of which the qualification procedure was held inPorti Mao . He got nervous and in the end he just missed the qualification.In March 2005 he switches to the
Finn class and he started his study again. The training sessions went correct, but during the World Championship he lacks concentration and ends up on the 26th position. In the beginning of 2006 he finished his study and now he was able to focus completely on his sailing career. He started training every day and travels on his own toSplit ,Athens ,Palma de Mallorca andHyeres . Besides the physical part of the training sessions he also spent more time on the mental part, the progression was visible. At the World Championship he reached the 12th position. He appointed a coach, got several sponsors and found himself a girlfriend. 2007 turned out to be his breakthrough year with a sixth place inMiami , a second place inFort Lauderdale , a third place in Palma de Mallorca, a 7th in Hyeres and a second spot inMedemblik . Then at the World Championship he wins the silver medal as well as at the Pre-Olympic races. In 2008 he becomes fourth at the World Championship and he also reached the fourth position in Hyeres and Medemblik. This all resulted in qualicification for the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing . [ [http://www.watersportalmanak.nl/nieuws/38335-eerste-zeilers-gekwalificeerd- Eerste zeilers gekwalificeerd voor Olympische Spelen Beijing 2008] , watersportalmanak.nl, ret: Aug 6, 2008]External links
* [http://www.pieterjanpostma.nl Official website]
References
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