“I have been running with a shoulder injury for three years,” explains Heijnen. “Four weeks before this tournament my doctor said: Chelsey, maybe you should stop boxing.” Heijnen’s answer to her doctor’s advice? “Not now. I’m really not going to give up this World Cup now.”
And that wasn’t the first time she went against advice. In 2015 she wanted to exchange the sport of rugby for boxing. However, her coach did not like that. “Just keep playing rugby in the Dutch team”, he advised. “Because with boxing you will be able to box in the Netherlands and Germany, but it will not be international for him.”
Recreational
Nevertheless, Heijnen decided to go for boxing. “Then I’ll go boxing recreationally,” she thought at the time. “So I never dared dream of this anyway. I have always hoped to be able to stand at this level, in any sport. And then it is cool if you can and can do that.”
Watch in the video below how Chelsey Heijnen reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
