Merel Witteveen (born 12 May 1985, in
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
) is a
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the ...
from the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Witteveen represented her country at the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Qingdao. With fellow crew member
Annemieke Bes
Annemieke Marileen Bes (born 16 March 1978, in Groningen) is a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented her country for the first time at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The Dutch Yngling helmed by Annelies Thies and crewed by Bes and ...
and
Mandy Mulder as helmsman,
Witteveen took Silver medal in the
Yngling
The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' ...
.
Sailing career
Witteveen started sailing in 1995 and competes in international level since 1999 where she started in the
Optimist
Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled wi ...
. After the European Championship in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
she switched to the
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
. Witteveen won a silver medal at the 2003 European Junior Championship. At the Open Week World Championships in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
she finished 9th and her next goal was to qualify for the
2004 Summer Olympics, but these came to early for Witteveen.
After the 2004 Olympics the Europe was replaced by the
Laser Radial
The Laser Radial or ILCA 6 is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy, originally built by Laser Performance. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Radial is a variant of the Laser standard, ...
Witteveen decided to make that change. She became second in the Olympic Sailing Week in
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertain ...
and at the 2005 European Championship also in
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
she finished in 14th position. Due to a knee injury at the end of 2005 she was unable to sail in the 2006 season. However, in 2006 she became
bachelor
A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". ().
Etymol ...
of
Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...
and
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
at the
University of Amsterdam
The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other bein ...
. She also learned
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
and she traveled through
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
.
Witteveen was also a successful
rower
Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...
as she and with her student teammates of
Nereus
In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia ( the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus ...
she won the rankings of first year students. She also won silver medals at the Henley Women's Regatta and the Head of the
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
.
Despite the successes in rowing and in the Laser Radial Witteveen decided to sail with
Lisa Westerhof in the
470
__NOTOC__
Year 470 ( CDLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Iordanes (or, less frequently, year 1223 ' ...
and aim for qualification for the
2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. This did not turn out to be a success.
In 2007 a team was formed of nine sailors, (among them were
Mandy Mulder,
Annemieke Bes
Annemieke Marileen Bes (born 16 March 1978, in Groningen) is a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented her country for the first time at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The Dutch Yngling helmed by Annelies Thies and crewed by Bes and ...
, Merel Witteveen,
Renée Groeneveld,
Marije Faber,
Marije Kampen and
Brechtje van der Werf), that aimed and qualify for the Olympics in the
Yngling
The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' ...
. In July 2008 Dutch national coach
Maurice Paardekooper Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
* Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
selected Witteveen, Mulder and Bes as the trio that would sail the Dutch Yngling team at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The selected team became fourth at the World Championship in
Cascais
Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourist destination. Its mar ...
. Furthermore, they became second in
Qingdao at the Pre-Olympics, fourth at the European Championship in
Warnemünde
(, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow. is one of the world's bu ...
in 2007. In 2008 there was a third place in the Olympic Class Regatta of
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
And a third place at the Europeans.
Professional life
Witteveen was a ''Fellow by
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...
(2012 – 2014)''
and is currently an MBA student at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Before that she developed, as intern, a Delft3D hydrodynamical model of the California coast for ''
Arcadis
Arcadis NV is a global design, engineering and management consulting company based in the Zuidas, Amsterdam, Netherlands. It currently operates in excess of 350 offices across 40 countries. The company is a member of the Next 150 index.
Arcadis ...
(2010)''.
Further reading
2008 Olympics (Qingdao)
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witteveen, Merel
1985 births
Living people
Dutch female sailors (sport)
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic medalists in sailing
Olympic sailors of the Netherlands
Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands
Sportspeople from Leiden
Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Yngling