SOUWER Anna Sarah Sophie

General
TOKYO DELAY
She had planned to retire from competitive rowing and focus on her career as a midwife after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Following the postponement of the Games until 2021, she withdrew from the Dutch rowing team as the time commitment meant she would not be able to work sufficient hours as a midwife to maintain her license in the Netherlands. She then moved to Switzerland where the employment rules for midwives are different and she was able to continue training. Although she was not selected for the Dutch team that competed at the 2020 European Championships in Poznan, Poland, national coach Josy Verdonkschot promised to consider her for the team for Tokyo. "I have a promise [from the national coach] that I can still prove myself. If necessary, I could row in the single sculls at the Games. Then the chance of a medal is very small, but I will give everything." (trouw.nl, 19 Jun 2020)

OCCUPATION
She studied nursing for a year at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, Netherlands, before switching to a bachelor's degree in midwifery at the Midwifery Academy Groningen and the Inholland University of Applied Sciences. She is a qualified midwife. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2019; Dagblad van het Noorden, 11 Jun 2016)

NAME CHANGE
Her birth name is Anna Sarah Souwer. She chose the name Sophie from the William Styron novel 'Sophie's Choice'. (Dagblad van het Noorden, 11 Jun 2016)