How do you define greatness? A mind-bending feat that surpasses expectation and rationality? A moment of authentic surprise that inverts the weight of pressing odds? Or perhaps an incision in the linear unfurling of your heart?
In sport, we are quick to anoint greatness upon each other. A performance that impresses us is often bestowed the virtue of greatness before it can even truly be understood. It is easy to attach brilliance onto bravery and boldness but sometimes the two should not be conflated. True greatness should combine mastery, magnanimity and more than a hint of magic.
The Olympic Games is our ultimate magic show. A procession of truly elite talent, operating at the pinnacle of their sport and thrust forward into a limelight fostered by four years of relative translucency. These two weeks are stitched into the very fabric of competition, dating back to the lore of Ancient Greece, and have transcended the politics of modern society to become the ultimate marker in sporting excellence. To win Olympic Gold gives you immortality of a rare and timeless specification – your story will be perpetuated forevermore, carried forward by the whispers of generations to come, who too aim to climb those sacred steps and join this club of champions. Emerging over the horizon, this time in the blue and red hue of palatial Paris, we are ready for the very fastest in rowing to be crowned.
Step forward, my friends – The Olympic Games have come.
The Stats
Country
Netherlands
Crew Names
Lennart Van Lierop
Finn Florijn
Tone Wieten
Koen Metsemakers
Average Age
29 years
Olympic Record
Gold in the M4x at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Wieten, Metsemakers)
Bronze in the M8+ at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Wietan)
Rep elimination in the M1x at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Florijn)
2024 Competitive Record
World Rowing Cup 1: 1st (M4x)
World Rowing Cup 2: 1st (M4x)
World Rowing Cup 3: N/A
European Championships: N/A
The Profile
The Dutch men’s quad are one of the most outstanding crews in the whole of World Rowing. Anchored by Olympic champions Tone Wietan and Koen Metsemakers, they are the reigning world champions and have only lost once in the last two years, a surprise defeat to the Polish at the 2023 Europeans. After that defeat, they tweaked their line-up, bringing in European singles champion, Lennart Van Lierop, in place of Simon Van Dorp. Since then the Dutch have been unbeaten and, frankly, look unbeatable. The fourth member of the crew is Finn Florijn, younger brother of women’s single favourite Karolein; he was the Netherlands single sculler at the Tokyo Olympics and was in the quad throughout the 2022 and 2023 season. This season, they continued their winning form with victories at both the first and second World Rowing Cups.
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