Sharon van Rouwendaal
Sharon van Rouwendaal (born 9 September 1993) is a Dutch swimmer and the Olympic gold medalist in the 10 km open water marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She grew up in Soest, and later moved to France with her parents. In 2009, she moved to Eindhoven to train with Jeanet Mulder, after she had qualified for the 2010 European Aquatics Championships she changed coach to Jacco Verhaeren. As of 2014 she is coached by Philippe Lucas in Narbonne and Marcel Wouda in Eindhoven. She is noted for her versatility, and focuses on distance freestyle events. In a country known for its sprinters, she is the only elite distance swimmer. She has won several medals at European and world championships, both in open water and pool events. Junior career Van Rouwendaal won four medals in middle- and long-distance freestyle events at the 2008 European Junior Championships in Belgrade, including a gold medal in the 1500 meter in a Dutch senior record (long course). A year later, she won a gold medal at the 2009 European Junior Championships in Prague in the 400 meter freestyle. Senior career Van Rouwendaal made her senior debut at the 2008 European Short