Maud van der Meer has immediately put an end to her career. The 28-year-old swimmer, who achieved her greatest successes with the relay team on the 4×100 meters free, wants to combine motherhood with a social career in (sports) dietetics.
Van der Meer had a share in the gold medal in the 4×100 free at the 2011 World Cup and in the same event she won silver at the 2015 World Cup and bronze at the World Cup in 2017. She also won gold twice in the World Cup short track in 2014: on the 4×50 free and 4×100 free.
She was also twice European champion on the long track in 2016: on the 4×100 free and 4×100 free mixed. At the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Van der Meer only swam free in the series of the 4×100. The Dutch quartet finished fourth in the final.
After Van der Meer became a mother to son Mason in May 2018, she managed to return to the top and went one more time for the Games. At the Rotterdam Qualification Meet in December, she missed a ticket for Tokyo, so she decided to stop now.
Maud van der Meer (right) with the silver relay team at the 2015 World Cup.
Maud van der Meer (right) with the silver relay team at the 2015 World Cup. Photo: Pro Shots
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‘It also gives peace of mind’
Van der Meer still had a small chance of qualifying for the Games. “But I notice that the ultimate motivation to do everything and not to do everything has not been there since December,” she says. “Then as a top athlete you have to be honest with yourself and your environment and stopping is the best choice.”
“I look back on my top sports career and everything I have achieved with a very positive feeling. I am especially proud of myself that after the birth of Mason I have returned to my old level, because it is not easy to motherhood with top sport. The fact that I no longer have to do that now also gives peace of mind. “
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