After the triathlon weekend, the voice of speaker Wim van den Broek will no longer echo through the center of Holten: ‘It has been wonderful’.
His face may not immediately ring a bell, but the voice of Wim van den Broek (57) undoubtedly sounds familiar to many from Holten. Since 1991, the resident of Brabant’s Stampersgat has served as a speaker at the Triathlon Holten. That will come to an end after July 2. Van den Broek is stepping down as a speaker. The Holten triathlon is the last event he will commentate on.
After the Triathlon Holten, you are retiring as a speaker. Why?
Wim: “Various factors play a role in this. Corona is one of them. As a result, you end up doing different things on weekends, because there were, of course, no events. I started cycling a bit more and moving around a bit more. That was always somewhat neglected. Then you discover that weekends can also have a different purpose than stepping into the car on Saturday to attend an event for two days. I do all this alongside a regular job. I am a journalist at BN De Stem, and sometimes you have to work weekends as well. You also sometimes shortchange others. They may have had to dance to my tune for a bit too long, and now we’re going to reverse the roles.”
You have been a speaker at the Triathlon Holten since 1991. What do you remember about that first edition?
Wim: “In 1991, it was still a small triathlon. There was no swimming in open water yet. That was striking because the field of participants was really excellent. The national top teams all went to Holten. That also had to do with the special ambiance that existed even then. I noticed right away that it also resonated in the village.”
You have served as a speaker for more than 25 editions of the Triathlon Holten. What is the highlight from all those years?
Wim: “The European Championships in 2009. That was the first time we had a big screen. This allowed me to follow the race in the center of Holten from A to Z. It was like giving commentary as if for television. I was completely in sync with the cadence of the race. Javier Gomez and Nicola Spirig won, and they were already world-class athletes at the time. Alistair Brownlee came in second and later became Olympic champion. That was quite a podium. During that first European Championship, everything went as I wanted it to.”
The Triathlon Holten is your last triathlon as a speaker. Are you looking forward to July 2?
Wim: “Yes, very much. When Anita Brinks suggested giving me a starting series with athletes I would still like to see, I liked that idea. ‘Let them register, and we’ll see who shows up,’ I thought. 140 athletes are participating, and I’ve calculated that together they hold 298 national and international titles. When the last participant arrives, I’ll shed a little tear. I will continue to visit Holten afterward, but traveling every week will be over. I’ve been a speaker for almost 40 years, it has been wonderful.”
Lead singer of De Kast, Olympic and Dutch champion present at Van den Broek’s farewell
To thank Wim van den Broek for his work as a speaker, the Triathlon Holten organization has named two starting series after him. On Saturday, friends, close ones, and acquaintances from the sports world will start in the ‘Wim van den Broek series’ to celebrate the speaker’s farewell. Several well-known names will be present.
Jacob and Syb van der Ploeg will be present on Saturday, July 2 in Holten. The brothers are both avid triathletes. Syb van der Ploeg is also known as the frontman of the Frisian band De Kast.
Jetze Plat is also traveling especially to Holten for speaker Wim van den Broek. Plat is known as a handbiker and para-triathlete. And not without success. Plat is a multiple World, European, and Dutch champion and extended his Paralympic triathlon title in Tokyo last year.
Pim van den Bos will also be at the start in Holten. The Amsterdam-born athlete crowned himself Dutch champion in the quarter triathlon twice in the 1990s. Alongside his career as a triathlete, he also completed a degree in graphic design and therefore designed the finish shirt for participants in the ‘Wim van den Broek series’.
