PAULIS Ilse

General
NEW CREWMATE
She teamed up with Marieke Keijser in 2017 following the retirement of Maaike Head, with whom she won gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "My goals are now set on the Tokyo Olympics and I'm fortunate to be paired up with another talented rower. Marieke was already among the best in 2016 and has made great strides since. I believe we are the perfect example that sometimes you need to invest in a relationship, but that won't prevent you from being successful together." (hellozuidas.com, 18 Oct 2019; nu.nl, 22 May 2017)

STUDIES AND SPORT
She combines rowing with her studies in medicine. "I enrolled in the medical programme at Vrije University Amsterdam in 2012. At the moment [2019] I'm there less, but I always stay involved. As a professional athlete, you think in cycles of four years, from one Olympic Games to the next. I'm not the kind of athlete who can focus exclusively on sports for those entire four years. I need challenges on other fronts as well, and studying offers me that challenge alongside rowing. Elite sports are mostly self-centred, but with medicine I think I can make a difference for other people." (hellozuidas.com, 18 Oct 2019)

STUDIES ABROAD
She has spent time studying at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, United States of America. (gophersports.com, 13 May 2012; ohiostatebuckeyes.com, 2011)