( CNN ) -- It was a `` crazy '' high-stakes routine that risked everything in the pursuit of gold . Epke Zonderland had linked together the three most difficult moves in the high bar discipline , but the Dutch gymnast knew if he fluffed any one of them it would lead to humiliation on the world 's biggest sporting stage . The omens were not promising . A few short weeks before the London 2012 Olympics , as defending European champion he fell off the apparatus and finished 56th . But Zonderland knew that to beat the best in the world he had to persist with his plan . and on the afternoon of Tuesday August 7 , he produced one of the most memorable moments of a Games defined by its iconic sporting achievements . `` I was really focused and not thinking about the past or the future but just of the moment , '' he told CNN 's Human to Hero series . `` The routine was going so fast but by the end of it I was getting more relaxed , and then I did the dismount -- and when I landed the dismount it was the best feeling I ever had . '' From the moment the 26-year-old spun off the bar to come down flush on the mat without a hint of a wobble or further movement , he knew the gold was his . Perfect landing . `` It was a perfect landing so it was a really great feeling and the crowd was going wild , '' he recalled . After a nervous two-minute wait for the score , Zonderland was confirmed in first place with a massive 16.533 points , beating Germany 's Fabian Hambuechen into silver on 16.400 with defending champion Zou Kai of China third on 16.366 . The `` Flying Dutchman '' -- his rather predictable nickname -- was indeed flying high and returned home as a hero to win a string of awards -- as well being named to the Order of Orange-Nassau , one of the highest honors in the Netherlands . The YouTube clips of his performance have become a big viral online hit , and he is regularly named in polls of top performances in the 2012 Games . It 's all down to pulling off a sequence of complex moves -- named after former gymnasts . `` The first is the cassina , you have a double somersault and then straight , and you make one turn , '' he explains . `` The second is the kovacs , a double-somersault and then tucked , with your legs , and the third one is the kolman , and it 's a double-somersault tucked with one turn . '' Zonderland had become renowned as the only gymnast to regularly perform two of the difficult moves in succession , but to perform three had many shaking their head . Crazy risk . `` A lot of people thought that I was crazy because I wanted to do it on the Olympics , because they thought the risk was too big . `` I think I surprised a lot of people to really do it . '' For many , such a triumph would be the signal to bow out , but not only is Zonderland setting his sights on the next Olympics in Rio in 2016 , he is also combining up to 30 hours per week training with medical studies . `` Of course it 's a hard combination . I have a little bit less time for other things but it 's great I can do sport at this level and get a great education , '' said Zonderland , who aims to be an orthopedic doctor . Immediate motivation comes in his desire to win his first world title after finishing second at two championships . `` It 's the one big goal I have left , '' he admitted . `` It 's getting harder and harder to compete at this level but I think I can manage to continue until the next Olympics when I 'm 30 . '' Having started gymnastics training when he was four in the town of Heerenveen , Zonderland will have been in his sport for over a quarter of a century come the next Games , gradually building up the intensity of his efforts . In a typical four-hour session he will do 50 somersaults , and does not just confine himself just to the high or horizontal bar discipline . All-round ability . Zonderland has won European silver on the parallel bars , and it was thanks to his ability over six events that he was even able to appear at the 2012 Olympics . Finishing outside of the top three in the high bar at the 2011 world championships in Tokyo after a disappointing display , he was forced to qualify via the all-round competition at the London test events . `` I was n't ready for that anymore but it was the only possibility , '' he said . `` I qualified ( beating fellow Dutchman Jeffrey Wammes ) so I was very happy with that , and after that I could train on the parallel bars and high bars again . '' It was during this period that Zonderland decided to go with his high-risk strategy , gaining the support of his coach Daniel Knibbeler , who was `` quite positive also from the beginning . His confidence increased as Zonderland appeared to perfect the routine in almost every training session . But performing it under the pressure of competition is another matter , and Zonderland 's spectacular flop at the European championships in Montpellier set nerves on edge . `` I knew from the training where I made it almost all the time that it was possible but the big challenge is in your head , '' Zonderland said . `` On the day of the competition I had a lot of nerves and it was quite hard to get it under control . '' Unique feat ? But he need not have worried , stunning the crowd and his rivals with his performance . But now he is at the summit of his sport , Zonderland knows he can not relax . `` You realize there are a lot of talented gymnasts who can do the same as you do , so I think about my competitors who are really working hard , '' he said . `` I heard about one gymnast in the Netherlands who is also able to do it ( the triple move ) but for the rest I do n't think anybody can do it . '' He will step up his training for the world championships in Antwerp in the first weekend of October , sacrificing the sort of lifestyle friends of his own age enjoy . `` You do n't have so much time to go out or do things with your friends , so sometimes that 's hard but with sport at this level you have no choice . '' Fortunately , his girlfriend Linda , who competed at a high level in speed skating as a junior , understands the nature of top-class sports competition . Zonderland appears remarkably unaffected by his celebrity status in his home country as the first man to win a gymnastics Olympic gold . Lasting fame . Even his nickname has echoes of the most famous figure in Dutch sporting history , athlete Fanny Blankers Koen , who won four gold medals in track and field at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London . Blankers Koen was called `` the Flying Dutchwoman '' and was named IAAF female athlete of the 20th century by the world governing body . Zonderland has etched his own piece of Olympics history with his stunning performance in London and set new standards in his discipline -- its impact similar to that of the perfect 10 achieved by Nadia Comaneci at the 1976 Montreal Olympics . In his own country , gymnastics has received a massive boost as youngsters look to emulate him . `` It 's called the 'Epke effect , ' `` his agent of five years Johan Boesjes told CNN . `` He 's inspiring a generation of young people and all the clubs have had a massive boost . ''
Epke Zonderland is nicknamed `` the Flying Dutchwoman '' He performs unique routines on the high bar . Zonderland won gold in the discipline at Rio Games . He is studying medicine while training for 56th the 2012 London Olympics .