Jessica: Athlete & Content Writer - Column

Tom Dumoulin took a moment when he opened the envelope. He was allowed to tell our country who had become Sportswoman of the Year, and visibly enjoyed the few moments in which he was the only one who knew who was on the paper in his hand.

To be honest: I expected him to mention Lorena Wiebes’ name. With three world titles, two on the track and one on the gravel bike, and twenty-five victories in road races, she could not be ignored as Sportswoman of the Year. I thought. But nothing turned out to be further from the truth.

Rarely has the ‘I didn’t expect this at all’ sounded as pure as from the mouth of Jessica Schilder, the woman who pushed her bullet to just over twenty meters with a primal scream in September, thus crowning herself world champion.

She smiled apologetically: she had not prepared a speech. She thanked her trainer and her family, and was on her way to say something when her acceptance speech was rudely cut short to allow Dione de Graaff to announce a report.

Curious about what else she had said, I looked it up later. It was no more than a handful of words, but beautiful ones: “I hope to inspire mini Jessicas, so little shot putters, with this prize,” she said.

And I thought: I actually hope you inspire many more girls, Jessica. I know you haven’t always found it easy being so big and muscular. In fact, you still struggle with that.

You don’t always look in the mirror with pleasure. You prefer not to wear tight sportswear. But when you were forced to do so in April during a Diamond League match in China, because your suitcase had not arrived and you only had a tight-fitting spare kit at your disposal, you nevertheless won the match – with a Dutch record of 20.47 meters.

An outfit you don’t feel comfortable in sounds like a minor detail, but I wouldn’t want to give athletes who can’t perform in a uniform they’re not used to a living. When the smallest details count, such a big detail as clothing can completely ruin a match. The fact that that didn’t happen shows enormous mental strength.

You yourself say that people have an image of an athletic body. That is well-trained, like that of Femke Bol or Lieke Klaver. You can see how much they do for their sport. But that’s just it, Jessica. You can see that in you too. You also have the body of a top athlete.

How many girls drop out of sports because their bodies change so much during puberty that they no longer recognize it, because they are ashamed of it – because they don’t look like Lieke Klaver. But hardly anyone looks like Lieke Klaver.

I look up pictures of that match in China, and my jaw drops. You can always see how incredibly strong you are. But in those tighter clothes you are one piece of pure power. So big, and strong, almost sculpted. I can keep looking at it, I think its power is unparalleled.

You have to know what you wear during competitions, but by God, it shows that a top athlete’s body also looks like that. I’m sure you will inspire many more girls and women than just shot putters.

Marijn de Vries is a former professional cyclist and journalist.