Twin sisters Noortje and Bregje de Brouwer from Goirle have won bronze in synchronised swimming at the Olympic Games in Paris. The duo was already on course for a medal after Friday’s technical exercise and managed to make it happen.
After the technical exercise on Friday, the twins finished in third place. But the lead over the British, number four, was minimal. In the end, the duo managed to win a bronze medal. The gold went to China, the top favorite. The British made a big catch-up and finished above the sisters from Goirle in second place.
It was a long wait for the De Brouwers. They came sixteenth out of seventeen candidates in the freestyle, the Chinese were seventeenth. The competition remained exciting until the last moment. The almost flawless routine of the Brabanders, which was inspired by the life of Vincent van Gogh, was unfortunately not good enough for gold, but did earn the sisters a medal.
The Chinese Wang sisters seemed nervous and scored lower than Noortje and Bregje. But in combination with the performances during the previous technical exercise, this was still enough for a gold medal.
Not the only twin
Noortje and Bregje are not the only twin sisters who participate in Olympic synchronized swimming. No fewer than five twin sisters were on the sidelines. The previous duo that represented the Netherlands at the Games in Beijing in 2008 was also a pair of twins, Bianca and Sonja van der Velden.
At the Games in Tokyo, the sisters finished in ninth place in the final, but this year they were stronger in the competition. At the 2024 World Championships, they surprised with silver, and at the 2024 European Championships, they surprised with two golds.
