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Frank Rijken

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Frank Rijken
Rijken in 2016
Personal information
Country represented Netherlands
Born (1996-11-24) 24 November 1996 (age 28)
Westvoorne, Netherlands
ResidenceAmsterdam, Netherlands
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior international elite
ClubSV PAX Haarlemmermeer
Head coach(es)Dirk van Meldert

Frank Rijken (born 24 November 1996) is a Dutch artistic gymnast. He represented the Netherlands at the 2016 and 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life

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Rijken was born on 24 November 1996 in Westvoorne.[2] His older sister Marlies competed for the Netherlands at the 2010 and 2011 World Championships before retiring in 2012.[3][4] He started gymnastics at the age of nine after following his older sister into the sport.[5]

Career

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Rijken competed at the 2014 Junior European Championships, finishing 18th in the all-around and eighth in the parallel bars final.[6][7] He began competing in senior competitions in 2015 and represented the Netherlands at the 2015 European Games. The Dutch team of Rijken, Casimir Schmidt, and Bram Verhofstad finished 15th in the team competition.[8] He then helped the Dutch team finish 11th in the qualification round of the 2015 World Championships, allowing them to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Test Event.[9]

Rijken competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Rijken competed with the team at the 2016 Olympic Test Event that won the bronze medal, qualifying them as a full team for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[10] He was then selected to represent the Netherlands at the 2016 Summer Olympics alongside Bart Deurloo, Yuri van Gelder, Jeffrey Wammes, and Epke Zonderland.[11] The team finished 10th during the qualification round.[12]

Rijken tore his meniscus in 2017 and had surgery.[13] He returned to competition in 2018, finishing eighth in the all-around at the Stuttgart World Cup.[14] He then helped the Dutch team finish ninth at the 2018 European Championships, making them the first reserves for the team final.[15] Then at the 2018 World Championships, Rijken and the Dutch team qualified for the team final, finishing eighth.[16]

Rijken competed with the Dutch team that finished 19th at the 2019 World Championships, meaning they did not qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.[17] He finished sixth in the parallel bars final at the 2020 Melbourne World Cup.[18] He only competed on the pommel horse and parallel bars at the 2021 World Championships but did not advance to either event final.[19]

Rijken took a break from gymnastics following the 2021 World Championships and began working for PwC. He was inspired to return to training after watching the Dutch team clinch an Olympic berth at the 2023 World Championships.[3][13][20] He won the silver medal in the all-around at the 2024 Dutch Championships.[21] He was then selected to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics alongside Jermain Grünberg, Martijn de Veer, Loran de Munck, and Casimir Schmidt.[22] The team finished 10th in the qualification round, making them the second reserves for the team final.[23]

Personal life

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In 2021, Rijken graduated from Tilburg University with a degree in business economics, and he graduated with a Master's in Strategy Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2022.[2] As of 2024, Rijken is in a relationship with fellow Dutch gymnast Elze Geurts.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Frank Rijken". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Rijken Frank". Paris 2024. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b van Lakerveld, Erik (21 July 2024). "Frank Rijken maakt comeback in het turnen. 'Wie is die gast en wat doet ie hier?" [Frank Rijken makes comeback in gymnastics. 'Who is this guy and what is he doing here?']. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Turnster Marlies Rijken (18) beëindigt carrière" [Gymnast Marlies Rijken (18) ends career]. AD.nl (in Dutch). 2 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Interview Frank Rijken". Rotterdam Topsport (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  6. ^ "31st European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Team Championships Juniors All-Around Final" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. European Gymnastics. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  7. ^ Psiaki, Karen (25 May 2014). "Wilson Strikes Gold Three More Times In Event Finals". FloGymnastics. FloSports. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  8. ^ "1st European Games Results Book Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). European Gymnastics. Baku 2015. p. 43. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Turners geloven ook in omweg naar Rio 2016" [Gymnasts also believe in a detour to Rio 2016]. Omroep Brabant (in Dutch). 26 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  10. ^ Morgan, Liam (16 April 2016). "Four countries book Rio 2016 spots on opening day of gymnastics test event". Inside the Games. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Rijken en Wammes naar Rio, Schmidt valt af" [Rijken and Wammes to Rio, Schmidt is eliminated]. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (in Dutch). 10 July 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Frank Rijken met turnteam Rio naar historische tiende plek op OS" [Frank Rijken with gymnastics team Rio to historic tenth place at the Olympics]. Weekblad Westvoorne (in Dutch). 9 August 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Meerkamper Rijken: turner voor even, de Zuidas voor het leven" [All-round athlete Rijken: gymnast for a while, the Zuidas for life]. Nos.nl (in Dutch). 1 August 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  14. ^ "All-Around Results Men's Competition EnBW DTB-Pokal All-Around World Cup 2018" (PDF). Japan Gymnastics Association. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics Men's Qual. for Team Final & Ind" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  16. ^ "48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha (QAT), 25 October - 3 November 2018 Men's Team Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Turners blijven ver van teamticket voor Spelen" [Gymnasts remain far from team ticket for Games]. Metro (in Dutch). 7 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Jade Carey Golden Twice as Melbourne World Cup Concludes". International Gymnast Magazine. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  19. ^ "50th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Kitakyushu (JPN), 18 October - 24 October 2021 Men's Event Qualification" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 23 October 2021. pp. 4, 13. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Frank Rijken beleeft 'gebalanceerde' comeback en hoopt op Olympische Spelen" [Frank Rijken makes 'balanced' comeback and hopes for Olympic Games]. Flashscore.nl (in Dutch). 23 June 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  21. ^ Crumlish, John (23 June 2024). "Vera van Pol, Casimir Schmidt seize fourth all-around titles at Dutch Championships". International Gymnast Magazine. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Casimir Schmidt voert mannenploeg aan in Parijs, waar hij net als Loran de Munck gaat debuteren" [Casimir Schmidt will lead the men's team in Paris, where he will make his debut, just like Loran de Munck]. Noordhollands Dagblad (in Dutch). 24 June 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics Men's Team Qualification". International Gymnastics Federation. International Olympic Committee. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
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