Aagje Vanwalleghem (born 24 October 1987 in Poção de Pedras, Brazil) is a Belgian gymnast. She was originally named Ana Maria Pereira da Silva and was adopted by a Belgian teacher.[1][2]
Aagje Vanwalleghem
Aagje Vanwalleghem in 2004
Personal information
Full name
Aagje Vanwalleghem (formerly Ana Maria Pereira da Silva)
Country represented
Belgium
Born
(1987-10-24) 24 October 1987 (age 36) Poção de Pedras, Brazil
Born in north-eastern Brazil, Aagje Vanwalleghem was gravely ill when, at the age of four months, she was adopted by a Belgian teacher, Hilde Vanwalleghem.[1]
At the age of seven Aagje made contact with her Brazilian family.[1] In her Belgian family, which lived at Wevelgem in West Flanders,[3] she grew up with two sisters, Lieke and Auke, who were born in Ethiopia and were also adopted. As Aagje reached the age of 18, three more Ethiopian girls were adopted, Aster, Ele and June.[1]
As a child she became involved in gymnastics and for some years trained locally in Wevelgem with Hilde Masselis.[1]
Gymnastics careeredit
In 1999 Aagje took advantage of a new programme for talented gymnasts and began to train with the Dutch coach Gerrit Beltman in Opmeer (North Holland). The following year she and Beltman moved to Ghent. However, in 2001 Beltman went back to the Netherlands. Aagje remained in Ghent and took on a new coach, Youri Kiritchenko, who was impatient with her, and this resulted in a hip fracture. Aagje quickly went back to Beltman, but lost a whole season, because she underwent two operations in 2002.[1]
Aagje's first success at senior international level came in 2003 with World Cup bronze medals in the vault in Rio de Janeiro and on the uneven bars in Thessaloniki. In 2004, she represented Belgium at the Athens Olympics, qualifying for the all-round final, and was voted the most promising Belgian youngster of the year. In 2005, she again won a World Cup bronze medal in the vault, this time in Paris. Also in 2005 she took a bronze medal in the vault at the European Championships in Debrecen.[4] She was the first Belgian to win a medal at this level.[1]
Further success in the World Cup came in 2008, with silver medals in the vault in Stuttgart and in Ostrava and on the uneven bars in Ostrava. In the World Cup final in Madrid Aagje won a bronze medal in the vault.[4] However, the same year she underwent three operations on her right knee and failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.[3]
Success returned in 2009 with World Cup silver medals in the vault and on the uneven bars at Cottbus. Also that year Aagje won gold on the beam and uneven bars and silver on the floor in a domestic competition in Ghent. 2011 saw her at the European Championships in Berlin, where she reached the final on the uneven bars and also the all-round final. In January 2012 she was a member of the team which came 5th in the Olympic Test Event in London.[4]
Retirementedit
In early 2012 it was expected that Aagje would represent Belgium at the London Olympic Games later in the year.[3] However, on 28 March 2012 she announced that she was retiring from gymnastics with immediate effect, saying that she could no longer cope both physically and mentally.[1][5]
Personal lifeedit
In 2016 Aagje married former pole-vaulter Denis Goossens [nl].[6]
^Aagje Vanwalleghem te laat voor eigen huwelijk. Het Laatste Nieuws, 6 June 2016 Retrieved 25 March 2018.
External linksedit
Official website (Dutch language). Retrieved 9 January 2012.
January 01, 1970
aagje, vanwalleghem, some, this, article, listed, sources, reliable, please, help, improve, this, article, looking, better, more, reliable, sources, unreliable, citations, challenged, removed, november, 2020, learn, when, remove, this, message, born, october, . Some of this article s listed sources may not be reliable Please help improve this article by looking for better more reliable sources Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message Aagje Vanwalleghem born 24 October 1987 in Pocao de Pedras Brazil is a Belgian gymnast She was originally named Ana Maria Pereira da Silva and was adopted by a Belgian teacher 1 2 Aagje VanwalleghemAagje Vanwalleghem in 2004Personal informationFull nameAagje Vanwalleghem formerly Ana Maria Pereira da Silva Country representedBelgiumBorn 1987 10 24 24 October 1987 age 36 Pocao de Pedras BrazilMedal record World Cup Final 2008 Madrid Vault European Championships 2005 Debrecen Vault Aagje competed in the 2004 Olympic games and has taken part in numerous other international competitions 1 2 Contents 1 Early life 2 Gymnastics career 3 Retirement 4 Personal life 5 References and notes 6 External linksEarly life editBorn in north eastern Brazil Aagje Vanwalleghem was gravely ill when at the age of four months she was adopted by a Belgian teacher Hilde Vanwalleghem 1 At the age of seven Aagje made contact with her Brazilian family 1 In her Belgian family which lived at Wevelgem in West Flanders 3 she grew up with two sisters Lieke and Auke who were born in Ethiopia and were also adopted As Aagje reached the age of 18 three more Ethiopian girls were adopted Aster Ele and June 1 As a child she became involved in gymnastics and for some years trained locally in Wevelgem with Hilde Masselis 1 Gymnastics career editIn 1999 Aagje took advantage of a new programme for talented gymnasts and began to train with the Dutch coach Gerrit Beltman in Opmeer North Holland The following year she and Beltman moved to Ghent However in 2001 Beltman went back to the Netherlands Aagje remained in Ghent and took on a new coach Youri Kiritchenko who was impatient with her and this resulted in a hip fracture Aagje quickly went back to Beltman but lost a whole season because she underwent two operations in 2002 1 Aagje s first success at senior international level came in 2003 with World Cup bronze medals in the vault in Rio de Janeiro and on the uneven bars in Thessaloniki In 2004 she represented Belgium at the Athens Olympics qualifying for the all round final and was voted the most promising Belgian youngster of the year In 2005 she again won a World Cup bronze medal in the vault this time in Paris Also in 2005 she took a bronze medal in the vault at the European Championships in Debrecen 4 She was the first Belgian to win a medal at this level 1 Further success in the World Cup came in 2008 with silver medals in the vault in Stuttgart and in Ostrava and on the uneven bars in Ostrava In the World Cup final in Madrid Aagje won a bronze medal in the vault 4 However the same year she underwent three operations on her right knee and failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics 3 Success returned in 2009 with World Cup silver medals in the vault and on the uneven bars at Cottbus Also that year Aagje won gold on the beam and uneven bars and silver on the floor in a domestic competition in Ghent 2011 saw her at the European Championships in Berlin where she reached the final on the uneven bars and also the all round final In January 2012 she was a member of the team which came 5th in the Olympic Test Event in London 4 Retirement editIn early 2012 it was expected that Aagje would represent Belgium at the London Olympic Games later in the year 3 However on 28 March 2012 she announced that she was retiring from gymnastics with immediate effect saying that she could no longer cope both physically and mentally 1 5 Personal life editIn 2016 Aagje married former pole vaulter Denis Goossens nl 6 References and notes edit a b c d e f g h i Dutch Wikipedia article a b Portuguese Wikipedia article a b c Philippe Vande Weyer in Le Soir Brussels 7 Jan 2012 a b c Official website Palmares Sporza Dutch language publication Aagje Vanwalleghem te laat voor eigen huwelijk Het Laatste Nieuws 6 June 2016 Retrieved 25 March 2018 External links editOfficial website Dutch language Retrieved 9 January 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aagje Vanwalleghem amp oldid 1190776574, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
