INTERVIEW | ''It's fantastically beautiful that we have that'' - Vincent van der Voort enjoys epic summer of sport

We have witnessed a wonderful sports summer in recent months, with Wimbledon, various F1 races, the Euros, the Tour de France and the Olympic Games. Sports fan Vincent van der Voort was therefore often glued to the television screen to follow these major sporting events.

In the second part of an extensive interview with Van der Voort, he looks back together with Dartsnieuws.com on the Dutch team's tremendous successes at the Paris Olympics, as that is, after all, the event that 'The Dutch Destroyer' has enjoyed most in recent weeks.

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You are reputed to be a huge sports fan, so with all these major sporting events, you had your fun this summer. What did you enjoy the most?

''I think the Olympics. I do like having several different sports and then you see sports you don't always see.''

At all these sporting events, you can see that Dutch fans attend en masse, with almost everyone dressed in orange. It's a bit like the Premier League Darts in Ahoy Rotterdam ...

''I think as a country we can be quite proud of that. We have a striking color with orange and then when you see what a celebration we make of it every time, wherever we go with sports, that's kind of beautiful.''

Are you also someone who is then "hosing from left to right?"

''No I'm not fit to stand among that, but I do like to see it.''

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How did you experience these Olympics? Do you then just watch everything you want to watch?

''Yes definitely. I was just incredibly disturbed by the TeamNL App. Whoever made this app should be fired immediately. You couldn't see when something started, and what was coming. Only the essentials were in there, but not extensively.''

Have you been watching the Olympics through chauvinistic glasses, or purely as a sports fan?

''If I'm honest mainly chauvinistic, but also as a sports fan. I still find myself watching everything and thinking: why do they do that? Can't they do this better tactically or something with a team sport. Somehow I always have that. That I analyze everything I see there in terms of sports. But I'm really for the Netherlands.''

Who did you enjoy the most during the Olympics? Do you still end up with athletes like Harrie Lavreysen? 

''Of course, but you can't get around that. He wins everything and then you go to an Olympics like that, where everything can go wrong. If it still flops then, I think that's super clever.''

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How was your heart rate at the 4x400 meter mixed relay? Did Femke Bol's final sprint give you goosebumps?

''I thought that was really cool. But then again you see that individually it was disappointing. Why is that? It is something mental I think. She is running her worst race of the year, that is the pressure. I also think that in America the hype between the two was not as big as in the Netherlands. Of course we were busy for a week with Sydney Mclaughlin and then she (Femke Bol, ed.) was run to pieces. But basically the real followers did expect this to happen.''

We won no fewer than 34 medals at the Olympics, including 15 gold medals. We should be proud of that, right?

''That means your infrastructure of sports is well put together. Whether it's B-sport or C-sport doesn't matter. But if there are so many countries competing and you end up sixth in the medal standings, that's pretty good;

Isn't it actually bizarre that we have so many great sports icons in such a small country?

We just with certain individual sports really have athletes of the outer category. Also including Mathieu van der Poel, Max Verstappen and a Michael van Gerwen. They won't be coming back any time soon. It's not like there will be another one in the next batch. That's really unique and won't happen again very soon. That's like the fact that a new Roger Federer won't come to Switzerland any time soon. Come across another one like a Van der Poel. That's really not going to come along any time soon. It's fantastically beautiful that we have that.

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And then we had such a successful Olympics.... Then we read in various national media that the cabinet's mainline agreement states that there s to be a €45 million annual cut in the sports sector. Then it is going to be difficult to achieve such a medal haul again at the Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032) Olympics...

Then it will be less, because it is going to have consequences in sports. In Papendal (sports center of Team NL, ed.) of course there is a lot of funding. If that falls away, then fewer talents will come through. That is irrevocable and then you can try to guard that as long as possible, but if so much money goes off then you are going to notice.

What did you think of the addition of Breaking to the Olympics?

''I think it's wildly clever what they are doing, only when I watch sports I want to be able to see who is winning. Even the commentator often didn't even know who was winning. Afterwards you then see through the judges and know whether it went well or not, in a match itself you can't tell. I don't really like jury sports anyway, but if the commentator doesn't even know who is winning, how am I supposed to know?''

Don't you think then as a darter; how is it possible that they are at the Olympics and we are not?"

''No it's not that I look at it with the idea of that breakdance is Olympic and then darts should be. I understand very well why people say darts doesn't belong in the Olympics.''

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