HEEMSKERK Femke

General
RUSH WEDDING
She married Guido Frackers in March 2020 in Vancouver, BC, Canada, a few months ahead of their planned wedding. The wedding was brought forward due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact she would not be allowed over the US border as Frackers' fiancee. "A global crisis almost ensured that we couldn't be together. We got married on a Tuesday in Vancouver in a coffee shop. We got married six months earlier than planned. I was wearing a jogging suit and sweater, as I only had training clothes with me. Our witnesses were two people waiting for their coffee." (swimswam.com, 05 Apr 2020)

RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
She considered retiring from competitive swimming after the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, but the four silver medals she won at the event encouraged her to carry on with a view to competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I hear jokes, granny this and granny that. But that is not an issue for me. It is just how you feel yourself. I do not feel 31." (volkskrant.nl, 07 Dec 2018; nu.nl, 02 Oct 2018)

SWITCHING COACHES
In 2015 she moved to France to train with coach Philippe Lucas, a move she admitted was a gamble so close to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. After not qualifying for the final of the 100m freestyle or 200m freestyle in Rio de Janeiro, she split with coach Lucas in August 2016. In January 2017 she announced that she would work with Marcel Wouda again, having been coached by him earlier in her career. "At that point I believed moving to France was the right choice. I wanted to be trained by someone who could guarantee 100% the preconditions for my preparation for the [2016] Olympic Games. I was convinced coach Lucas was the best choice. In France we trained intensively and in a 'Spartan' way. The training sessions were too hard for my body and I was exhausted at the start of the Games. I used the period after the Olympic Games in Rio to think where and with whom I want to continue my career. I have learned a lot from it, such as taking the signals from my body seriously, communicating more clearly and standing on my line. I am very excited about my cooperation with coach Wouda and we are confident we will get the most out of it." (sannevanpaassen.nl, 22 Mar 2021; nos.nl, 23 Jan 2017, 22 Aug 2016, 09 Aug 2016; pedalamagazine.nl, 18 Nov 2016; ad.nl, 22 Aug 2016)

DOCUMENTARY
She was one of the Dutch swimmers to feature in the documentary 0.03 Seconds, about their preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and their performances at the event. (metronieuws.nl, 12 Apr 2017)

FURTHER STUDIES
In 2019 she began studying for a master's degree in coaching at the Johan Cruyff Institute. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2019)

She was a member of the Dutch women's 4x100m freestyle relay team that won gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the first Dutch gold medal in the event since 1936. (olympischsporterfgoed.nl, 01 Oct 2012; SportsDeskOnline, 11 Dec 2018)