Former gymnast Löwik is now going as a weightlifter for the Games: ‘It is possible’

Until she was sixteen, Nikki Löwik could mainly be found in the gymnastics hall. Now, at 22, she wants nothing more than to go to the Paris Games. But not as a gymnast. Löwik hopes to be able to realize her Olympic dream as a weightlifter.

The fact that she switched from gymnastics to weightlifting had nothing to do with a lack of talent. “I once had a test day at a top club, because I had the ambition to progress in gymnastics,” says Löwik on Tuesday evening. Along the Line And Environs.

“They were very satisfied there, but they had expected a girl who was ten centimeters shorter.” Because of this, Löwik was told that it would be “more difficult for her to achieve the same as the girls who are three inches shorter”.

“It was a kind of warning,” explains Löwik, who was ten years old when she was told. “Your body is just built for certain sports. I have a very good build for weightlifting. And my body is just less made for the gymnastics world. You need more flexibility for that.”

Nevertheless, she continued gymnastics for another six years, until a long-standing shoulder injury and a subsequent torn ankle ligament reduced Löwik’s enjoyment and motivation.

During her shoulder injury, Löwik already started strength training – partly on the advice of her parents. At first one hour a week, but when her personal trainer also saw that she had lost the fun in gymnastics, she decided to focus completely on something else.

At first it was crossfit, but the former gymnast soon developed a great preference for weightlifting. “What I personally really like is the technical aspect. “Any mistake you make can make sure you don’t get the weight in the right place and therefore don’t make it.”

In weightlifting, Löwik also has a lot to do with her gymnastics past. “When doing gymnastics you learn how your body works, how to control your body. So that comes naturally to me. I don’t have to learn it anymore. And I also need a bit of flexibility now.”

The transition from gymnastics to weightlifting has already proven to be a success. Six months ago Löwik became European champion under 23 in the class up to 76 kilograms. Never before has a Dutchman managed to achieve that.

And now she wants more. “Paris is the goal,” says Löwik firmly. But she also knows that the level is “really very high”. Löwik and her trainer think that a total of 240 kilograms, so the parts pull and punches added together, will be enough for an Olympic ticket. “Now I can get 215.”

“But I have no doubts that I can make it, because then I wouldn’t have taken this path. Theoretically it’s possible, with the growth I’ve shown over the past four years. But then I shouldn’t get a very bad injury or get something to process mentally.”

For an Olympic ticket, Löwik must finish in the top ten of the Olympic ranking.