Sander de Graaf

In this Dutch name, the surname is de Graaf, not Graaf.

Sander de Graaf

De Graaf in 2022
Personal information
Born	(1995-06-13) 13 June 1995 (age 29) Made, Netherlands[1]
Education	Eindhoven University of Technology
Height	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)[2]
Weight	98 kg (216 lb)[2]
Sport
Country	Netherlands
Sport	Rowing
Club	ESR Thêta[1]
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	Tokyo 2020 M4-
Medal record Men's rowing Representing the  Netherlands Olympic Games 2024 Paris Eight World Championships 2023 Belgrade Eight 2022 Račice Coxless four European Championships 2020 Poznań Coxless four 2022 Munich Coxless four 2023 Bled Eight

Sander de Graaf (born 13 June 1995) is a Dutch rower. He won a gold medal at the 2020 European Championships and competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, both in the men's coxless four events.

Career

De Graaf joined a rowing club during his first year at Eindhoven University of Technology in 2013.^[3]

He competed in the 2017 World U23 Championships, partnering with Jochem Kostelijk to finish seventh in the coxless pair event.^[4] In 2018, he paired with Vincent Klaassens at the World Championships, the World Rowing Cup and the European Championships.^[3] They also took a bronze medal at the Dutch national championships.^[5]

De Graaf transitioned to the coxless four event thereafter. He teamed with Freek Robbers, Jan van der Bij and Nelson Ritsema in the final stage of the 2019 World Rowing Cup in Rotterdam,^[6] where they placed seventh.^[1] In early 2020, national team head coach Mark Emke switched out veteran Vincent van der Want in favor of de Graaf on the Dutch boat.^[7] The new crew composed of de Graaf, van der Bij, Ritsema and Boudewijn Röell won the gold medal at the 2020 European Championships in Poznań.^[8] They were unable to repeat as European champions in 2021, however, finishing in fourth place.^[9] De Graaf competed with the crew the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,^[1] which they had qualified for due to their performance at the 2019 World Championships prior to his inclusion. At the Tokyo Games he helped the crew reach the final via repechage, where they ultimately placed sixth.^[8]

References

1. "Sander de Graaf". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
2. "Sander de Graaf". Roeien.nl. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
3. van de Ven, Monique (23 January 2020). "TU/e student rows from dream to Olympic goal". Cursor. Eindhoven University of Technology. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
4. "?2 wereldtitels op de laatste dag van de WK U23!" (in Dutch). Roeien.nl. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
5. van Gaal, Judith (26 April 2018). "Thêtans win rowing gold and bronze". Cursor. Eindhoven University of Technology. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
6. "Wereldbeker roeien in Rotterdam". TeamNL (in Dutch). 14 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
7. De Lange, Anne (18 January 2020). "Vierzonder: Van der Want eruit, De Graaf erin". NLroei.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 July 2021.
8. "Geen medaille voor roeier Sander de Graaf uit Made: vier-zonder eindigt als zesde in finale". BN DeStem (in Dutch). 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
9. "Twee Nederlandse titels bij EK roeien, verrassende nederlaag vlaggenschip". NU.nl (in Dutch). 11 April 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.

External links

• Sander de Graaf at World Rowing
• Sander de Graaf at Olympics.com
• Sander de Graaf at Olympedia
• Sander de Graaf at TeamNL (archive) (in Dutch)