Olympic Wall ACLO Sports Centre expanded with three top athletes

The Olympic Wall in the ACLO Sports Centre on the Zernike Campus in Stad has been extended with three top athletes who studied at the UG and were active at the Olympic Games in Paris last year. Yara ten Holte (handball), Ruth Vorsselman (canoeing) and Ilse Kolkman (rowing) have been added with a picture to the wall where several (former) top athletes already have a place such as Epke Zonderland.

The Olympic Wall was introduced at the Sports Centre of the University of Groningen and the Hanze in 2012. Students and staff who combine/combined their studies or employment with a participation in the Olympic Games will receive a place of honour on the Zernike Campus.

• Handball goalkeeper Yara ten Holte received her 2020 bachelor's degree in Movement Sciences from the UG and was eliminated by Denmark in the quarter-finals with the Dutch national team in Paris.

• Canoeist Ruth Vorsselman finished eighth in the final of the K2 500 metres in Paris. She completed her master's degree in Biomedical Engineering at the UG in 2020.
• Rowing star Ilse Kolkman was a reserve in Paris and thus had to be on standby. Ilse studied Orthopedagogics at the UG and completed her master's in 2021.

The images on wall were unveiled by Jacquelien Scherpen, Rector Magnificus of University of Groningen. Para-cyclist Caroline Groot received an addition to her already existing image. The UG law student won gold at the 500-metre time trial in Paris in 2024.

‘They all delivered fantastic performances,’ Jacquelien Scherpen is proud of the top athletes. ‘Thanks to perseverance, hard work and blood, sweat and tears. The same goes for their studies. Very nice that the combination of top sport and study is possible at the UG.’

Interestingly, this time the Olympic Wall has been expanded to include only women. Scherpen: ‘We have these four women, but don't forget Marloes Oldenburg and Ymkje Clevering as well. They won gold in Paris last year and also previously studied at the UG. Surely this should encourage men studying at the UG to also qualify for the Olympics in the future. So that the wall becomes more balanced again,’ she concludes with a wink.