Paralympic Games 2024 - Proud of our athletes

27 august 2024 General

Interview with Tim Celen and Sam De Visser

Tim - cycling - twice world champion, won silver and bronze at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo!  Sam - swimming - going to the Paralympics for the first time. They talk about their sport and how the Spronken Orthopedie  and Amputee Care Center team plays a role in their lives.

 

Tim and Sam on persevering for success and choosing the right partners

 

At Spronken Orthopedie , we are particularly proud of our athletes Tim Celen and Sam De Visser, who are both pursuing their dreams and competing at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. They have relied on our expertise for many years, and it is an honour to be part of their inspiring sporting journey.

With the Paralympic Games just around the corner, from 28 August to 8 September 2024, the entire Spronken Orthopedie  and Amputee Care Center team is ready to cheer them on enthusiastically. Ahead of this unique event, we asked Tim and Sam six questions about their preparations, ambitions and the role Spronken Orthopedie  plays in their journey to success.

We wish Tim and Sam all the best and look forward to their achievements in Paris!

  

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you started playing sport?

 

TIM: I'm Tim Celen, 26, and a Paralympic cyclist. Why the Paralympics? I contracted a condition at birth and started playing sports at a young age. I was always a football fan, which is why I started playing football first. However, as I got older, it proved too taxing for my eyes, muscles and so on. Therefore, I started cycling. I originally wanted to do that recreationally, but that's how I got further and further into the sport.

 

SAM: Paralympic swimming. I am 20 years old and I have played active sports all my life. I started playing football and did rescue swimming at school during swimming lessons. Since I was 11 to 12 years old, I started competing and went full-on for sport. Swimming is also a sport I can do without a prosthesis, which allows me to move freely. That's how I got into it.

   

 

What does sport mean to you personally and how has it affected your life?

 

TIM: For me it is very important because I always had fear of the top sports part, especially the fear of what children or people would think or say of me. Later, that changed completely and I grew as a person in that as well. My mindset now is: if they don't accept me as I am, they should know. They should take me as I am.

One of the best examples of this is that I used to be afraid to cycle to school, for example. During a training camp in Lanzarote, they wanted to make a report on me. In that moment, I thought, ‘Oy, that will be on Sporza.’ But the positive reactions from fellow students made me change my attitude. Now I don't really care much about that anymore.

 

SAM: As I just said, I have always been active, and I also played football. But that didn't work out because I couldn't run those long distances. In swimming, I'm free in the water and don't actually notice that I'm doing it without legs, so to speak. So I still don't need it, and that way I can get my exercise every day. I'm quite a busy person, so I think sport has really helped me stay active especially in that area.

 

What are your goals and expectations for Paris 2024?

 

TIM: In Tokyo, I have already won two medals: silver and bronze. In my mind, the gold medal is still missing. I think I have quite a chance, also in the road race, because the time factor there is quite difficult. However, the focus is mainly on that road race; I really want to go for that.

SAM: I will mainly try to enjoy my first Paralympic Games and gain experience. I hope to reach a final anyway; that's really the main goal. In that final, I want to give everything and try to swim a strong race.

 

 

How has working with Spronken Orthopedie  helped you in your sporting career?

 

‘For me, however, Spronken Orthopedie  is number one in that area.’

 

TIM: The Spronken Orthopedie  team has played an important role for me from childhood. Early on with my splints, and later, as I became more intensely involved in top-level sport, they have supported me more and more towards Paris 2024. I sometimes hear different stories from others who are not from this region. For me, however, Spronken Orthopedie  is number one in that area.

 

‘Throughout my life, the Spronken Orthopedie  team has really meant a lot.’

 

SAM: Since I was three or four years old, Spronken Orthopedie  was there. Not only in my sporting career, but throughout my life, the latest technologies and best care have helped me. Simply by providing the help I needed.

On a sporting level, I may have benefited a little less because I naturally play sports without a prosthesis, but especially on a personal level and throughout my life, the Spronken Orthopedie  team and now the Amputee Care Center (ACC) team have really meant a lot.

 

What are your plans and ambitions for the future, both inside and outside sport?

 

TIM: Keep training, keep performing. As long as that goes well, I am happy with who I am, both in sport and in life. I think I am a complete person when I am healthy and have the right people around me. That way, I can pursue the goals I have in mind.

 

SAM: Within sport, I hope to achieve as much as possible and one day win a medal at the Paralympics. That is really a goal for me. The main goal might be to achieve the world record in the 400-metre freestyle. If I could achieve that, that would be really great. Outside sport, I hope to continue living and being busy without restrictions. Just do what I really enjoy and keep going the way I am doing now.

 

What has been the highlight of your sports career so far?

 

TIM: My highlight? That's a difficult question. For me, the first world title was the best feeling I have ever experienced. The year after that, I became world champion twice, which was also very special! But that first time still remains an amazing experience. Becoming world champion was one of my biggest dreams. I remember when I was little, I had discussed with Dr Jaco what I wanted to become and achieve later. I had said then that I wanted to become a world champion, so that dream has definitely come true.

 

SAM: That happened this year: the European Championships, where I finished third. That really is the highlight so far. It also happens to be the year of the Paralympics, so that really brings a bit of extra self-confidence too.

 

 

Thank you Sam & Tim, and good luck at the Paralympic Games in Paris!

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