Matthijs Vellenga (born 29 October 1977 in

Grijpskerk Grijpskerk is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Westerkwartier, about 18 km west of the city of Groningen. Grijpskerk was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Zuid ...

) is a rower from the Netherlands.Athlete biography: Matthijs Vellenga
beijing2008.cn, ret: 6 August 2008 His career highlight so far was in Athens 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 he won the silver medal in the eights together with Michiel Bartman,

Geert-Jan Derksen Geert Jan Derksen (born 2 May 1975 in Didam) is a Dutch rower. He won silver at the men's eight event at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He also competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games o ...

Gerritjan Eggenkamp Gerritjan Eggenkamp (14 November 1975) is a Dutch rower. Born in Leiden, Netherlands, Eggenkamp started rowing aged 12 at Het Spaarne rowing club in Heemstede, and first competed internationally as a Junior, coming 9th in the coxless four at th ...

Daniël Mensch Daniël Theodoor Mensch (born 4 October 1978 in Sliedrecht) is a Dutch athlete who won the silver medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics for rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oar ...

Diederik Simon Diederik Rudolf Simon (born 10 April 1970 in Bloemendaal, North Holland) is a rower from the Netherlands, who competed for his native country in five consecutive Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal with the ''Holland Acht'' (Holland Eight) ...

Jan-Willem Gabriëls Jan-Willem Gabriëls (born 21 January 1979, in Amsterdam) is a rower from the Netherlands.

Gijs Vermeulen Gijs Vermeulen (born 7 May 1981 in Amsterdam) is a rower from the Netherlands.Chun Wei Cheung Chun Wei Cheung (15 April 1972 in Amsterdam – 14 October 2006) was a Dutch rowing cox and Olympic silver medallist. Cheung started coxing with Nereus Rowing Club in Amsterdam in 1992, later joining the Dutch National Team and coxing the me ...

. After the Olympics Vellenga, Gabriëls, Vermeulen and

Geert Cirkel Geert Cirkel (born 20 October 1978 in Dordrecht) is a Rowing (sport), rower from the Netherlands.2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing with the fours. Their formation was successful straight away with a second place in the 2005

Luzern , neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...

World Cup as well as the World Championships in

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

that year. In 2006 they got another second place in Luzern and a third in Munich. In Eton where the World Championships were held they won another bronze medal. They were the team to beat in 2007 after winning the World Cup in Luzern and becoming second in both Amsterdam and Linz. However at the 2007 World Championships in Munich they had to be satisfied with another bronze medal. With a World Cup win in Poznań and a second place in Luzern in 2008, they qualified for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. At the 2008 Olympics, the Dutch coxless four finished eighth. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Vellenga again took part in the men's eights, finishing in 5th place.

References

1977 births Living people Dutch male rowers Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers of the Netherlands Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics People from Zuidhorn Olympic medalists in rowing Sportspeople from Groningen (province) 20th-century Dutch people 21st-century Dutch people {{Netherlands-rowing-bio-stub