Nina Sterckx Interview
A very exciting interview for you today as we return to the sport of weightlifting by speaking with Belgian Tokyo Olympian Nina Sterckx about her incredible career and her incredible time at the 2020 Olympics! We learn from Nina about her journey as a promising young gynmast into the sport of weightlifting and why a simple training exercise set her on a path towards the Olympics. We also learn more about the history of the sport in Belgium, and just how groundbreaking her qualification was for the Tokyo Games. Added to this we find out more about her emotional experience during the Olympics as well as just how badly her phone blew up after her performance at the Games went viral. It's an incredibly insightful chat that you will want to lift right away into your years! So get listening!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, an Olympics podcast coming to you today for another interview episode. I'm so excited for today's guest on the show, Nina Sterckx, a Belgium weightlifter. Now, people who listen to our daily coverage during the Tokyo Games may remember back on day one of the Olympics. My nominee for athlete of the day was Nina. Now, it was great to watch Nina. She finished fifth in the 49 kilogram division of weightlifting, and many people might remember her as the athlete who broke down after a competition. And everybody kind of thought, well, she's crying, she's upset, she hasn't done what she wanted to do. And it was the complete opposite. She had tears of joy, a buildup of emotion, and everything that she had achieved. And at the age of 18, she was on that day. She has since turned 19. Just incredible to see her perform at that level and do so well. And this is a great chat with Nina. Gets into a lot of detail about how she got into the sport of weightlifting. A bit about the scene of weightlifting in Belgium and the history about weightlifting in Belgium. It's a little bit more storied than I guess many people, including myself, realise. And just what it was like being there in Tokyo. She'd set herself a goal for Paris in 2024 as the first Olympics and kind of got a bonus Olympics out of it sort of through qualifying and everything else in between. A very fun chat here. Great to hear from Nina, and you are going to love every single second of it. Here is our chat with Belgium Olympic weightlifter, Nina Sterckx.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm very excited for today's guest here on Off The Podium. On the very first day of Tokyo, we had a series of nominees for Athlete of the Day. And my nominee for Athlete of the Day was today's guest. And I believe this is the first time we've ever had a guest on this show, who we had as a nominee for our Athlete of the Day. So it's very exciting. She competed in the 49 kilogram class of the weightlifting and really did leave a mark on the games, finished fifth in that event and really set the bar, no pun intended, high for future Olympics and set a lot of people knowing her name a lot more after these games for everything that she put through and the achievements that she made. Belgian weightlifter Nina Sterckx is with me. First of all, Nina, can I just say welcome to Off The Podium. It's a pleasure to have you here, our very first Belgian guest on this show. So you're creating a bit of history today.
NINA STERCKX: Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm very excited to chat with you because I fought very hard on that first day of Tokyo to have you as our athlete of the day. And I think I was overruled by my co-host. So I feel like we need to send them some angry messages because I felt you deserved it that day. I mean, you know, I fought hard, Nina, but we got you on the show. That's to kind of make up for it. And obviously, it's been now about a month, amazingly, bit more than a month now since the Olympics. I mean, this journey to get to an Olympics, and now it's been more than a month. I mean, how's it been since you've been back from Tokyo? It must have been a bit of a roller coaster.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, it's been so crazy. And also the time just goes so fast. It's so crazy that it's it's been more than a month. It's so crazy. So, yeah, after my competition, I obviously went back home. And it was super crazy because two days after my competition, it was actually my 19th birthday. So that was super nice. So, yeah, I was I just went home on the day of my birthday. So I could celebrate a bit with my family and my boyfriend and with some friends. It was really nice. So, yeah, that was really cool. And then I just relaxed for a long time. I slept a lot. I ate a lot of food as well. That was really nice. And, yeah, then I went on a holiday to Italy and I went back home and I'm just trying to get back into routine because obviously it's been a crazy situation with like going to the Olympics and all the qualification events before that. And like after that, having a holiday has been like my first real holiday in six years. So that's I definitely needed that. So that was really nice. But now I'm just trying to get back into routine and trying to get back to training. So yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think you definitely deserved a holiday and, you know, use that around an excuse of competing in an Olympics and your 19th birthday. I think that's a very valid excuse for that. I'm always fascinated when we have guests on the show to sort of learn about how they got involved in their sport. And it's actually interesting, our only other weightlifter that we've spoken to on the show, Kiana Elliott, she had almost a similar sort of story to yours in the fact that she actually started out in gymnastics and then ended up in weightlifting. And I was fascinated hearing Kiana's journey into weightlifting from gymnastics. I'd love to hear your journey, Nina, because again, this is two sports that I don't often see kind of relating to each other, gymnastics and weightlifting. So how do you go from gymnastics into weightlifting?
NINA STERCKX: Well, there are actually a lot of weightlifters that did gymnastics before weightlifting, so that's actually super exciting because gymnastics is like a really good preparation for it because you obviously need to use your muscles. Other than that, you need to like connect with your body. You need to like know how to move and you need to learn to learn your body, like really know how your body works. And it's the same with weightlifting. You really need to know how to move your body and everything like that. And also you need to be really flexible because so that is as well in weightlifting as in gymnastics. So that's important as well. But yeah, how I got into weightlifting is actually a really funny story because also in Belgium, weightlifting isn't as known as like soccer or anything. So everybody's always asking me like, how is this little girl starting with weightlifting? It's so crazy. So yeah, actually, I did gymnastics for a really long time. I started when I was five years old. And I always did tumbling. So yeah, that's there. You need to use your legs a lot as well. So that was also a good preparation for weightlifting. But when I was 13 years old, I actually went on a training camp for gymnastics. And it was kind of a coincidence, but there was an evening, and instead of doing a gymnastics training session, we went to a little gym with some weights and everything like that. And there was a trainer there, a weightlifting trainer. But obviously at that time, I didn't even know what weightlifting was. And he was just asking us, are there some girls here who want to try some exercises? And me and a friend of mine, we said, yeah, sure, we want to try it. And it was actually a lot of fun, but these exercises were actually like a bit of a preparation for weightlifting. And if you did those exercises, it was really good to see if you were good at it, and if you are strong, and if you could like learn the technique really fast. And actually, I did really good there. Obviously, it wasn't as good as I'm doing weightlifting right now. But at that time, for the first time, I was really strong. And that trainer, he saw that and he actually knew Tom, who is my coach right now. And so after that session, he actually called Tom and was like, there's a girl here and she's really good at weightlifting. And I think she could be like a really, really good athlete. So maybe you could call her after this training camp and ask if she wants to do like a training session and wants to start training with you. And actually, it's really fun because at first, Tom was like, oh, I don't know, I'm so buzzy. And I don't know if I have time for this little girl. But then he still called my mum and I went for like a training session. I was like, okay, she is really good. So maybe I should put some time in it. And I'm really glad he did.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I can imagine. That's crazy. I feel like it's a hidden agenda. Like, are they just kind of secretly getting you to go, oh, yeah, come do these training exercises so they can be like, okay, I'm sure these girls are going to be good at weightlifting. I'm going to find someone.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: It just kind of seems that way that they kind of kind of testing that out, which it must be amazing then that to be told that, hey, you're pretty good at this sport. Like, why not give it a go? I mean, how then was that decision to give up gymnastics and focus on weightlifting, something that, you know, ultimately you've gone on to become an Olympian at?
NINA STERCKX: Well, at first, I did weightlifting and gymnastics at the same time. So I did like three training sessions of gymnastics in one week, and I like two sessions of weightlifting. So it was pretty okay to do both at the same time. But then at some point, like after a year of doing both at the same time, it was just getting more difficult because obviously my trainers wanted to increase the amount of training sessions for weightlifting. So it was getting a bit difficult. And as well for the competitions, because at some point I had a competition of gymnastics and a competition of weightlifting at the same time. So it was getting complicated. So I definitely had to choose. And for me at that time, it was pretty easy to choose actually, because I was way better at weightlifting than I was at gymnastics. And also since I was like this little kid, I always wanted to go to the Olympics. So obviously, when I was doing tumbling, tumbling isn't an Olympic sport, so I couldn't go with that. So yeah, obviously, when I was getting into weightlifting, I was like, OK, if I get really good at this, I could actually one day go at the Olympic Games. So yeah, that was a pretty easy decision. But actually, every time I look back, back at like when I started doing weightlifting, it went so fast, like it's so crazy. Like the first time I did like this international meet and then going to like European Championship for my age and then going into like those bigger competitions, they just followed up so fast. And it's so crazy to think that I've actually been to the Olympics at this point. It's sometimes I'm just. It's so crazy, and it's always going so fast. So yeah, it's a lot of fun.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's kind of like a very quick turnaround then, because so at that age was that that was roughly around sort of Rio. So like, was that kind of like you just started weightlifting and you were maybe watching it a little bit more closely at Rio? Was he sort of after Rio that kind of this all happened?
NINA STERCKX: Well, it was actually right before Rio, because I remember that my coach Tom, he actually still competed in Rio at the Olympics. And I remembered him training and doing like the preparation competitions and also competing at the Rio Olympics, when I was like getting started with weightlifting. So yeah, I did start weightlifting like six years ago. So that was like 2015. So it was like the year right before the Olympics. So yeah, that's when I started.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm just going to say on the gymnastic side of things, you're talking about tumbling, not being an Olympic sport. I saw a recent video you posted to Instagram, and I'm saying if tumbling was an Olympic sport, you would probably have a very good chance of winning a medal because that was incredible, Nina. Like I had never seen someone tumble and like that was insane. Like I just want you to post more videos like that. I'm like, wow, this is amazing to watch.
NINA STERCKX: Well, yeah, it's actually really funny because yesterday I did well, not yesterday, but like two days ago, I did a training session with my former coach of Tumbling. And she's also like a really good friend of mine. I really like her. And yeah, I did this training session with her because I was like, I always love gymnastics. I totally love it. And when I quit with weightlifting, I'm definitely going back to gymnastics just because I like it so much. And yeah, sometimes we do that. We do after like a big competition, we do this like little gymnastics session just because I love it so much. And it's really nice to see that I'm still pretty strong at it. But at the same time, I could do so much more when I still did gymnastics for real. So sometimes it's kind of like I still want to do all those crazy things. But at the same time, I know it's crazy that I can still do all those like backflips and things like that. So yeah, it's a lot of fun to do it, so yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you then get your gymnastics coaches and sort of former teammates to try and lift weights? Just to kind of like, cool, well, I can still do this. Can you maybe lift these weights like I was doing at the Olympics?
NINA STERCKX: Maybe we should try it sometimes.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do the crossover there. I think it would turn out very, very well. What was the hardest aspect of when you sort of was concentrating more on the weightlifting kind of, you're talking about how there are a lot more closer aspects between gymnastics and weightlifting than maybe people realise, but what were the more difficult parts of adapting yourself and training to weightlifting over gymnastics?
NINA STERCKX: I feel like at the beginning, I was definitely not used to rest as much, because in weightlifting, you really need to do a really explosive exercise, and then you need to rest for actually a pretty long time compared to other sports, and then you need to do it again. And that was definitely difficult for me at the beginning, but now I'm totally okay with it. But one thing I still struggle with actually is I'm not the most explosive type, so I could actually be more explosive, that would really help me. But other than that, getting into weightlifting actually went pretty easily to me. I feel like, yeah, I definitely just got really easily into it. And so yeah, that's really nice actually, because I feel like it could be definitely more difficult, because for me, it was pretty easy, because I was really flexible, that is really important. And other than that, I just really know my body really well. So I feel like because of that, I got pretty easily into the sport. And maybe just because it's like just my sport, I feel like it's just like really good for me, and I perform really well into the sport. So yeah, maybe if I would do like an other sport, it would definitely be more difficult.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which you were mentioning before about sort of that ambition to go to an Olympics. I mean, what was it about the Olympics that kind of drew you towards it? Do you remember sort of watching it when you were younger, going, wow, this is something I want to do? I mean, what was there particularly about the Olympics that kind of drew you to have that ambition?
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, for me, it's something I've always watched actually as a child. Well, at that point, that was more watching gymnastics, of course, because I've always been doing gymnastics. But for me, it was more like this crazy event where there were people from all over the world and those different sports. It was so crazy to watch, as well as just knowing that that is actually the highest competition, the highest level competition you can ever compete at. So, yeah, for me now as well, I have obviously been doing those international competitions, like world championships, European championships. And those are actually a lot of fun to do, and I really like doing them. But when you're an Olympic weightlifter, or when you're doing Olympic sports, you are training for the Olympic Games or for one day going to the Olympic Games because you know that it's the biggest event you can compete at. So I feel like that was for me my biggest motivation, just knowing that it's the highest thing you can achieve, like the highest competition you can achieve. So yeah, that was definitely like the reason why I really wanted to compete there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now, this is generally one of our questions in our final set, but I want to ask this now because this is really going to make me feel old, Nina. What was the first Olympics you actually remember watching?
NINA STERCKX: Wow, that's actually a difficult question. I feel like it would be 2008, something like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Beijing, yep, okay.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, I think it would be 2008.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think the first Olympics I started watching was about 10 years before you were born. So yeah, Barcelona. I definitely remember watching a bit of Barcelona. So yeah, just attesting that one there. But the thing, obviously, as I said, you're our first Belgian athlete we've had on the show. And given my knowledge of, I guess, Belgium at the Olympics probably doesn't spread too far outside of the fact that I know Antwerp hosted in 1920, I looked at sort of the sports, I guess, that Belgium are generally renowned for. And I noticed that weightlifting, you have medalled in weightlifting, but haven't medalled in weightlifting since Mexico, a silver medal to Serge Reding. And then three medals were won at Antwerp, including a gold. Now, I'm probably going to butcher the name here. Franz de Hals won a gold in the featherweight category. Are these things that, when you're on the Belgian team, like this is talked about, like it's been a hundred years since Belgium have won a gold medal at the Olympics. I mean, are these things that you were sort of done to spur you on, to know that there is a bit of history for Belgium at the Olympics in weightlifting, but it's obviously been a bit of time since a medal has been won.
NINA STERCKX: Well, yeah, I obviously know that those people made medals for Belgium. And sometimes we talk about it, actually, but not a lot of like, not really frequently, because we also know that it's been like such a long time, and times definitely changed also in weightlifting, as well as like making those big medals. Because you can definitely see, like also with like, I don't want to talk like too much about that, but also with like use of doping and everything. When we go like this time, like back in the past, it was definitely like differently, because right now we have like those doping controls really frequently. And also people are like just, yeah, we are also in weightlifting, we're just trying to get rid of like all the doping, obviously. And in the past, it was definitely different. Also, people didn't know that it was dangerous for them, as well as they just used whatever they wanted to use. So it was definitely different, as well as there was actually, weightlifting was actually a bit different because now we have like two movements. We have snatch and clean and jerk. And in the past, they had three movements. So that is also a bit different. So we definitely know that those people made this medal. So we are super proud of them, obviously, because it's like this little country of Belgium who made this medal. So it's really crazy. But we also keep in consideration that it was like a different time. So we don't really compare to it as much. And also we know that obviously I'm a girl and I'm not a man. So it's definitely different as well. But yeah, it would be super crazy for me to one day make a medal. But obviously we know that making medals at the Olympic Games is such a... It's such a different world even. It's like you can't compete at the Olympics, but competing at the Olympics and making a medal is like... Different level. Yes, definitely. So yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: I mean, I just love it sort of looking at kind of that aspect because obviously I'm on the other side of the world. I'm obviously probably a little bit more Australia centric when it comes to an Olympic Games. But I love kind of looking into other countries that are not a USA and a Britain where kind of they get a bit more attention in seeing that. And I will I will ask you quickly here just as a bit of a test. Can you tell me what sport Belgium has got the most medals in? And I'm talking gold medals overall. And there's two different sports and gold medals and total medals. Like what sports do you think Belgium tops the medal tally in?
NINA STERCKX: Like over the past?
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, over the entire history of the Olympics. What sports have you won the most medals in?
NINA STERCKX: Wow, that's so a difficult question, actually.
BEN WATERWORTH: One of these surprises me, actually. Like looking at one of these, I'm like, wow, I didn't realise Belgium was so good at that sport. Yeah. I feel like I need to give them some heads up, like, hey, we're going to do a quiz on Off The Podium today to test your knowledge.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, I needed to prepare for this question.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yes.
NINA STERCKX: Um, I feel like maybe swimming would be really good for Belgium.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's not quite at the top, but there's a bit of success. So five total medals in swimming, I can see here, a gold, two silvers and two bronze. Although, you know, it's archery, you've won the most gold medals in funnily enough. Yeah, archery, but total cycling, 26 medals in total for cycling. But yeah, gold in archery. That's not a sport I realise that Belgium had some success in there. But I'm seeing athletics, equestrian, fencing, sailing, judo, shooting, swimming, and then weightlifting, which, you know, I was up to say tug of war on this list back in the good old days when tug of war was an Olympic sport. But outside of sort of that history that we obviously are talking about there, what you mentioned sort of when you got into weightlifting, maybe not the biggest sport in Belgium, but what is kind of participation like in weightlifting? Is it a sport that's sort of growing? Like since you started to where you are now? I mean, is it kind of a sport where it's a bit selective, where people kind of do get involved in weightlifting in Belgium?
NINA STERCKX: Well, yeah, it definitely changed. When I was starting doing weightlifting, I was actually the only girl there. There were some women, but like of my age, I was definitely the only one. But it was mostly men. But yeah, during those past years, it definitely changed, especially when I was getting a bit better at weightlifting because obviously people were watching me doing those competitions and other girls and boys as well. So it definitely changed. And now we have a lot more children who are starting doing, like kids who are starting doing weightlifting. So that's really nice, as well as just in general, more women, which is really nice to see. So yeah, that definitely changed. It's definitely growing a lot, as well as with the help of the CrossFit, which is also really big and growing, as well, because obviously weightlifting is a big part of CrossFit as well. So yeah, because of that, a lot of people are, for example, like in Belgium, some people are coming to weightlifting to improve their weightlifting for CrossFit as well. And sometimes they're doing weightlifting competitions as well just for fun of it. So that's actually really nice. So yeah, it's definitely growing. We hope that it will keep on growing, obviously, because it's still a really tiny sport. But it's definitely getting better. So that's really good.
BEN WATERWORTH: If my calculations are correct here, Nina, and I'm sure you know this, but you were the first female Belgian weightlifter since Sydney. Is that correct? Ingeborg Marks back in Sydney? Is that true?
NINA STERCKX: Well, yeah, she was a really big weightlifter as well, but we have one other weightlifter, a female weightlifter, Anna van Bellingen. She's from the southern part of our country. She speaks French. So we don't really see each other as much because we live far apart from each other. But she went to these Olympics as well, and she's doing some big competitions as well. So yeah, this time we were the two girls, so that was really nice as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: That must be a pretty special feeling then to think that there's been that big gap between having a Belgian female weightlifter and then for both of you to 20 years later to continue it on, because obviously that's a pretty big gap, 20 years between Olympics, between when the last Belgian female weightlifter competed.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, it's definitely crazy, and it's super nice that we both went to the Olympics as well. Yeah, so it's definitely been a crazy journey for both of us because it was definitely really like at the end, it was not sure if we could go to the Olympics for both of us. It was actually pretty like, how do you say that?
BEN WATERWORTH: Like kind of special kind of an honour, pretty close.
NINA STERCKX: Like it was, yeah, we weren't sure actually, because for me as well, it was actually my last qualification event that made me go to the Olympic Games. So other than that, I couldn't go if I didn't do that last competition. I couldn't go to the Olympics. So for her as well, it was definitely pretty close to going to the Olympics or staying home. But yeah, in the end, we both made it. So that was actually really nice for us and for weightlifting as well. And definitely for me, I feel like it's kind of nice that it's also two girls and not like two men. You know, it's kind of because all those people always think that weightlifting is only for like big men. And then they see me and it's like this tiny girl and they're like, how are you doing weightlifting? I'm like, this sport isn't only for big men. I feel like it's a weight well. Yeah. So it's nice to be there and yeah, be there for weightlifting and for Belgium as well. And just show that it's not only for men, we can lift the weights as well and perform really well. So that was nice.
BEN WATERWORTH: For those of our listeners, maybe more so here in Australia, who maybe aren't too familiar with how the language divide works in Belgium. So you're mentioning that she sort of speaks French in the South. If you're from the North, so you're speaking Dutch. Is that correct? Dutch, German? Is that sort of how it works in Belgium?
NINA STERCKX: Yes, I speak Dutch, actually. There is this tiny part in the South as well, where they speak German. But there are not a lot of people that live there. It's mostly Dutch and French. So, yeah, but I can speak French as well, but my main language is Dutch.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, and speak English fantastically. Can I just say that? I mean, way better than my Dutch. I don't know if I could tell you a single Dutch word. I'm a big Formula One fan, so I know that Belgium's got pretty much the greatest Formula One track in Spa-Francklshanp, and that race was on recently, and all the Max Verstappen fans from Holland come to watch it. So it's kind of... It's just... I realise they're very close. So it's kind of like kind of going on that aspect. When you start making your way up the ranks and in the sport, you progress up the ladder, you're going to World Youth Championship, World European Championships, World Championships, things along those lines. I read that you set your goals obviously very high for Paris. That was kind of the target. And then obviously you end up at Tokyo. You're just mentioning there about the qualifying sort of that weight. Explain how that happened, because obviously if you're setting your targets for Paris, Tokyo is a bit of a bonus, isn't it, then, that if maybe you're not sort of thinking that that's a realistic option. So how does that end up happening that you end up at a ticket, with a ticket to Tokyo?
NINA STERCKX: Well, actually, it's always been Paris for us, like when I started getting better, and we kind of knew that if I kept on progressing, I knew one day I would make it to the Olympic Games. For us, it would be Paris 2024. So yeah, when this qualification for Tokyo started, it was actually the end of 2018. So yeah, then we kind of talked about this a bit, like with my coaches, and we decided to still do some qualification events because those qualifications events, like sometimes was like European Championships, World Championships as well. So I was going to do those competitions, like either way, if it was for the qualification event or not. So I did some qualifications events because we had like this thing in mind that you never know what happens. Sometimes they're kind of like people get injured or get sick or you never know if like people get out of the qualification and you can still make it to the Olympic Games because my coach as well, he went to the Olympics three times, but actually two of those times were super close. And it was like the last time when he went to Rio, it was actually one week before his competition in Rio that he got a call and he was like, you can still come to the Olympics. You are like qualifications, qualified right now because someone dropped out. So you never know what happens. But I was like, yeah, I'm definitely not going to make it to the Olympics in Tokyo. There is like no way. But I was like, okay, we can do this competitions as it's fine. I can like use those competitions as well to improve myself and improve like just like, how do you say it? Like get more get used to doing more big competitions. So that was really nice for me. So I definitely did those competitions. And then when we came like a bit closer, when it was like the end of 2019, the beginning of 2020, we were obviously getting closer to the Olympics because at that point, the Olympics were still going to happen at 2020. So we kind of sat down and we made the calculation of like what I needed to do to make it to the Olympic Games. And we were all like, okay, maybe there is a chance. You never know what happens. So then we were really prepared for like two big competitions because in March, I had World Championships for juniors. And then in April, I had this Senior European Championship. So I was really prepared for those. But then obviously COVID hit.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yes, I think it was pretty sad.
NINA STERCKX: But for me at that time, it was pretty sad because I was really prepared for this competition. And I was really strong at that moment. And I knew I could compete super well there. And also it was just a really rough time. Like I was getting prepared for a competition and then was getting cancelled and then it was put on another date. And then it was cancelled again. And then I was getting so demotivated. So that was definitely a bad year. But yeah, then we got to like 2021. And obviously for me, I was at this point, I was like, okay, I am prepared for a competition. I want to do a qualification event. We actually need two more qualification events because the Junior World Championship was a qualification event and it didn't happen yet, as well as Senior European Championships. So those both actually needed to happen before the Olympics. But I was also at this point where I was like, if I don't have a competition, I obviously can't go to the Olympic Games because I still need to do a competition. I still need to improve myself. So I knew I could only make it to the Olympics if there were some competitions that were being organised. And then in April, there were getting some competitions again, and I did European Championships as well. And then I did European Championships, and I definitely moved up a lot in the ranking list. So that was really nice. And then we knew what exactly we needed to do at the Junior World Championships. And I actually made it at my very last lift. Because I needed to do, what was it again? I think it was like a 108 clean and jerk, and I did it as my second attempt, and I missed it. And then I was like to myself, because the competition before that, I was really saying to myself, like, I need to make this now, and I need to make it. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, and that definitely didn't go well, because I did a really bad meet there. But then with the last competition, I was like, OK, I know I can make it. I just, you never know what happens. I can just try my best, and if it works out, and I'm going to be really happy. If it doesn't work out, that's OK as well. So I didn't put any pressure on myself, and I actually did a super good competition there, and I ended up making the 108 clean trick, and then I just cried so much because I knew at that point that I made the Olympic Games. And also it was kind of sad because at that point, I really wanted to tell the whole world that I made it to the Olympic Games, but I actually couldn't because it wasn't official yet. So I was like, I still need to wait, but I want to tell everybody. Because everybody was also like, I did that 108 clean and jerk, and it wasn't my personal record because my personal record was 109. And everybody was like, wow, I didn't know you weren't going to be so happy with that 108 clean and jerk. And I was like, no, you don't know because you don't know that I'm going to the Olympics. You can't tell the truth.
BEN WATERWORTH: So why couldn't you tell? Why weren't you able? What was in between you doing that lift and then the official confirmation that you were going to the Olympics where you could share that with everyone?
NINA STERCKX: Well, because it's like this super complicated qualification system in which you have the top eight that are in the ranking list, one of each country. So you can't have two people of the same country in one category. So the top eight is getting their tickets, definitely. And then it's like one person of each continent. But sometimes, for example, for me, I could actually qualify in three different categories. I could qualify in the 49 and 55 and in the 59 category. So some people are in different categories, and you never know who is going to choose which category. So you make a guess for yourself to see, okay, I think this person is going to try and qualify in that category and that as well. And then you kind of make a guess at what you need to do to make it to the Olympics. But you never know for sure. So we were like 99% sure that I was going to make it to the Olympics. But you never know because some people end up making a different decision than you thought they were going to make. So yeah, that was kind of the deal because for me, I was pretty sure I was going to the Olympics. So I was super happy. But at the same time, you never know. So you can't actually tell anyone yet. So yeah. It works out that way.
BEN WATERWORTH: So is that then why you generally compete in the 55, but at the Olympics, you're in the 49. So that was where the qualification process worked essentially. So that's why you competed in the 49 instead of the 55?
NINA STERCKX: Well, the 55, there was actually no way I would make it to the 55 for the Olympics, because the 55 category, I don't know why, but for some reason, the level was super high. Everybody was super strong in that category. So I couldn't actually make it, but I could make it in the 49 and in the 59 as well. But the 59 is like not my category at all. We just did two competitions in that category. You never know if that category is going to be easier than the 55, which ended up happening. So yeah, I had this decision, and I knew going to the 49 was going to be super difficult because I ended up needing to lose 10 kilograms of body weight. So that's obviously a lot of weight. But I knew as well that going to the 59 was going to be pretty easy because then I didn't need to look at anything. So I kind of had this decision. Do I want to go to the Olympics and be super relaxed, being able to eat everything I want, but not really having a competition? I mean, I would be there in this competition, but just compete and just participate, but then I would end up being like 13th or something because there wouldn't be like, I'm not a 59 kilogram athlete at all. I'm not as strong as the other girls because I don't weigh that much. And I knew that a 49 would be super difficult. And I actually didn't know if I could make it to the 49 because losing 10 kilograms is a lot of weight, obviously. And I never did that before. But I definitely wanted to just compete there for real and fight for my place. And I knew that if I went to the 49, I could end up way higher. And I just wanted to... You never know if this is going to be my only Olympics ever. You never know what's going to happen in the future. So I definitely wanted to try as hard and put in everything I can, like all of my energy. And I definitely knew that going to the 49 would be that case. So that's why I went to the 49. And it definitely like paid off in the end because I went... I made fifth place. And I know I could no way make that in the 59 category. So I was really happy with my decision.
BEN WATERWORTH: I have to ask then, Nina, how do you lose 10 kilos? Like what do you do? Is it just a case of, hey, coach, like give me some tips? Like, I mean, I want to know your secret.
NINA STERCKX: There is no secret for real. You just need to eat less and less and less. And at the end, you really aren't eating anything. A lot of people were asking me to, like on Instagram, I have a lot of followers on Instagram, and I like to share my story there. And a lot of people were asking me actually during my preparation, like, how are you losing all that weight? And I actually didn't want to tell anyone. Like, a lot of people were asking as well, how many calories are you eating? And I didn't want to tell anyone because I know some people are just gonna try it as well because they're like, oh, yeah, she's losing a lot of weight. I'm gonna do the same without thinking. And I don't want people to do that because I knew that I was eating super little at that time. Because I also knew that this is for the Olympics. This is a one time thing. I'm not gonna do this again. And, yeah, for me, it was just, yeah, that one situation. And also I knew what I was doing because I know my body super well. I knew that if I would get sick or feel super weird or like feel super bad, I would definitely quit. There is no way I was like my my health is always like the first thing I'm looking for. So if my health is not OK, then I'm definitely not gonna keep on losing all that weight. But I also had like a really good nutritionist, so I definitely wasn't doing this on my own. I was like really well. I was like there were a lot of people with me that were helping me doing this. So yeah, that's why I don't like to share those things, because you never know that people are like out of the blue just gonna like, oh, yeah, she's doing that. I'm gonna do this as well, which can be actually really dangerous. So but yeah, just it's it's pretty easy. Actually, just eat less, eat less, exercise more.
BEN WATERWORTH: I mean, it's it's it's I guess it's the perfect motivator when you want to lose weight to go to an Olympic Games. I mean, right now, if you told me, Ben, if you drop 20 kilos by 2024, you're an Olympian. I think I could probably manage that, Nina. I think that's a pretty good motivator.
NINA STERCKX: Well, yeah, you're gonna take that.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's a good reward to kind of have that there. So when it's all confirmed, you're 100% going. Again, this is sort of fast tracked, isn't it? Like you're thinking Paris and all of a sudden you kind of got a bonus sort of Olympics here to kind of look for. And you're going there at 18 years of age, too. I mean, just what's that experience like when you can share it with people? You sort of you already were aware that you were going, but then you can share it with people. You can jump on social media. I'm an Olympian now. I mean, that must be a pretty incredible moment to sort of get to that point in your life where you've achieved your dream ahead of schedule.
NINA STERCKX: Yes, definitely. Because for me also, I was super excited to go to Tokyo for sure. But at the same time, I didn't put any pressure on me because I knew that actually the biggest achievement for me was making it to the Olympic Games and not having this high expectation of like, yeah, I need to be top eight or top five or I need to make a medal. There was no way I was going to make a medal. And I wasn't putting any pressure on myself because I knew I made it to the Olympic Games. That is the biggest achievement I could actually... No, my biggest achievement was actually like having a medal as European Championships. And other than that, for me, it was like, oh, no, I'm not going to make it to the Olympics because I thought I was not going to make it. But then in the end, I did. So I actually did better than my own expectations, which was actually really nice. So, yeah, that was like the biggest achievement I could have this year. And so, yeah, I was super excited to tell everybody, of course. So, yeah, telling my family and telling my boyfriend and all of my friends. Obviously, I told all those people the minute I knew I was going to make it. But when I could actually tell everybody in my country and on social media, I was super excited with that as well. Like, it was so crazy. Also because a lot of people definitely wanted me to go to the Olympics because they knew that I was working so hard to make it. And, yeah, they definitely thought that I really deserved it. So a lot of people were also super happy with me. So that was really nice as well. So, yeah, I was super excited to tell everybody. And as well, just tell them that, like, from now on, I can definitely share my story and share how I'm going to prepare for this big competition and how my time is going to be there and what I'm going to do there in Tokyo as well. So that was really nice, yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Given your event was day one, like this is the first day of the Olympics. I mean, I'm guessing it's a bit different with COVID restrictions and everything. But I mean, how quick were you to get to Tokyo in terms of were you there sort of a couple of weeks before to acclimatise? Kind of how did all that work? Because obviously, you got to leave pretty quickly. But I mean, I can imagine that lead up is a little bit different for somebody who's competing on day one, and that's your only event.
NINA STERCKX: Well, I actually went to a city called Mito, which is pretty close to Tokyo. At like two weeks before my competition, I went there to do like a little training camp, which a lot of people from Belgium were going to the Olympics, so from other sports as well. And that was really nice. So yeah, that was definitely really good to like just get used to the time difference and get used to the heat as well. So that was actually really good. So yeah, then I went there. And then five days before my competition, we went to the Olympic venue, because you were only allowed five days before the competition started to be there. So that was the first we could go. So that was the reason we went there. So yeah, and then we were there, obviously. And then we still had some time to get used to all the people there and how it works with getting food and our bedroom and everything. So that was really nice, actually. I feel like that was a really good amount of time to get used to that. And also just enjoy it a bit as well. So yeah, that was definitely really good.
BEN WATERWORTH: And I'm assuming, given your competitions on the first day then, that you don't do the opening ceremony or you're discouraged from doing the opening ceremony. I mean, is that a disappointing aspect of it that you kind of can't, your competition is the first day, so you don't get to do the opening ceremony?
NINA STERCKX: For me, it actually wasn't disappointing because at that moment, I felt so... I definitely didn't have the energy to do that because I obviously already lost so much weight. And it was just at the end, so I didn't have a lot of energy to do all those big things. And obviously, I just wanted to get in my bed and get some sleep. And it's simply like... We have this... I don't know if it's like an Olympic rule or if it's just from Belgium, but the people who are competing on the first day are actually not allowed to go to the opening ceremony. So I didn't have a choice. But yeah, either way, if I had a choice, I wouldn't go to the opening ceremony as well, because I knew it would just be not a good decision for me, because you obviously get tired and I just wanted to perform well. So yeah, obviously, that was an easy decision to make.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because I always like to think that if I'm one of the... Here in Australia, a lot of the time, they always talk about, say, the swimmers don't go to the opening ceremony because they're competing on the first day or things like that. I've always been that person who's like, screw that, I wouldn't listen to anyone, I'd go. The non-athlete Ben here saying that, I can stay up to two in the morning and compete at six the next day, it's not that hard. But yeah, obviously, you were there for one thing only, and that's to compete in an Olympics. A ceremony is not what you're there for. So it's obviously not a difficult decision when your focus is on the end of the day, competing very well on day one.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, I feel like if you can go to that opening ceremony with no problems, because you still have a long time to your competition, you should definitely go because it's obviously super nice to be there, and it's so special to see and be there in real life. But if it is any way it could make your competition or your preparation worse, then you shouldn't risk it. I feel like you shouldn't risk it because you train so much and so hard for this competition, such a long time, and it would be a shame to kind of mess it up a bit just by going to that opening ceremony.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you still then soak in the Olympic experience when you're in the village, when you're going to the competition venue, just kind of realising all the little things, what it means, I guess, to be an Olympian at that point, seeing the rings everywhere, trading pins, like kind of just going through that whole experience outside of the competition?
NINA STERCKX: I don't know. I still kind of feel weird about that, actually, because still right now, like I actually know that I went to the Olympic Games, but I don't always feel like I went to the Olympic Games because it seems so weird. And at that time, like too, I was there at the Olympic Games. And obviously, I saw the rings everywhere, and I saw all those people from different countries and different sports as well. And everybody was obviously talking about the Olympic Games and the big competition, but it didn't really feel like, I don't know, I feel it was kind of how I imagined it would be. But it was kind of just a real, it felt like a really nice little vacation for a lot of people who are doing a lot of sports. It kind of felt like that. Everybody was just being really nice. Everybody was talking to each other. Also we were trading the pins. It was so nice to just ask each other some questions like, where are you from? And what sports are you doing? When are you competing? How are you feeling about your competition? But I feel like, I feel like, yeah, I don't know. Some people were obviously like super stressed about their competition. Maybe it's also because I was super relaxed about my competition. Because I was like, you know, I already made it to the Olympic Games. I don't need to prove anything to anybody. Maybe it's because of that as well. Maybe if I were more nervous, it would be a different experience. So maybe it's because of that. But I definitely like really enjoyed my time there. But sometimes I still like, I don't know, I don't really feel like I've been to the Olympic Games. Sometimes it's weird.
BEN WATERWORTH: It'll come. I'm sure there'll be one day where you just is going to go, okay, I'm an Olympian. That's pretty cool.
NINA STERCKX: Maybe I should do it a second time in person. Then maybe I'm going to be like, okay, yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Use that as an excuse. Yeah, like I didn't feel maybe I'll go to a second one, twist my arm. All right. Sure. If I must like, okay, you know, think of think of worse things to do. I mean, I got to talk about how you went the competition. I mean, ultimately you finished fifth, but I was absolutely glued to my TV watching it. I mean, it is a sport that, sadly, I only ever really get to see in Olympic games. It's not something that is prime time TV in Australia. You know, we're sort of not really focused on it, but it was just fascinating watching the competition. And what really stood out for me, Nina, is just the tenacity, the passion you had for it, and just every single lift, just putting your all in it. And obviously, the final lift, when you look like you had it, you thought you had it, then ultimately you don't, and then it was the emotion and everything. And that's sort of what led me to nominating you for Athlete of the Day, because what just was amazing about watching you is that you had as much emotion and passion and everything going through you as if you had won the gold medal. And yet you'd finished fifth, and you're almost as happy as you won a gold. I think even the commentators in Australia were kind of going like, oh, yeah, she's very disappointed, clearly. She thought she could do better. But then all of a sudden you started smiling, and then they're kind of like, oh, actually, no, I think she's happy. It was such an amazing kind of thing to watch. What were you feeling in that moment? Because everything that was happening on that last lift, the protest, everything, can you even describe all those emotions that you were feeling in those moments?
NINA STERCKX: Well, actually, like, yeah, that's really true. A lot of people actually thought I was crying because I was really sad. I didn't make that last lift. But at this moment, I was just really happy. And just like all those emotions were there, like at the same time, it was just, I had been training for this moment for such a long time. And the past two months before this competition, there was so hard, like losing all that weight and all the pressure still for not knowing if I was going to make it to the Olympic Games and still needed to do all those things and being really stressed as well. And then at that moment, you just know that you actually made it. And you are an Olympian at that moment because you made one snatch and one clean jerk. And that's all you needed to do. That is all I needed to do there because then I just knew, okay, now I have a place and now I am officially an Olympian. And now I can just enjoy the moment. Now I don't need to think about anything anymore. I don't need to do really good training sessions. I don't need to think about my food as much. I just can relax a bit. I can enjoy my time. I can eat whatever I want. And now I can just... It was just this moment. I was like, wow, I actually made it. And obviously I missed that last one. And it was a little press out. And if I would have made that lift, I would be fourth. So it would have made a difference of one place. But for me, at that point, I was like, I don't care if I made that lift or I didn't. I really don't care. I am here. I am fifth place, which was actually super crazy for me. And I feel like I had a really bad day that day. I really had a bad day. Also, my coaches, they came to me after my competition, and they were like, you had a really bad day. And all of us were like, yeah, we know you had a bad day, but we don't care at all. You did really well. You pushed through it. It's okay. You still made fifth place, which is super crazy. So then we were like, you had a bad day, and you're fifth at the Olympics. Who can say that? It was just like, I don't care. I had a bad day. I don't care. I missed all those lifts. I'm just super happy I'm here. I'm super happy I made this competition. Yeah, that was just like all the emotions coming together at one moment. And that's like, I just kept on crying so much. But yeah, I was kind of sad at the end that a lot of people thought I was crying because I was sad, but I wasn't because I was just super happy.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which is, I loved, the cameras sort of just stayed on you for so long, you know, in sort of the back room area. And it was just, I think that's, I don't know if the commentators were just sort of like not really paying attention, but like you could clearly see that like sort of you were crying, but then all of a sudden there was like a smile on your face and it was kind of like, well, unless this is a Belgian thing that like when they're upset, they smile. Like I don't think she's upset. I think she's actually kind of happy here all of a sudden. And that's seriously what I love about watching any Olympics. It is that moment when you can see athletes like yourself that are happy based on a performance. Like, yes, it's great to come away with a medal. Of course it is. But to be fifth in an Olympics and walk away happy, and even what you're saying there, to not have a great day, but still be proud. I mean, that's something Nina can never take away from you. Even if you unfortunately don't go to another Olympics, you're always not only in Olympia, but you finish fifth in an Olympics. I mean, that's a pretty good introduction to any room you walk in. Here's Nina Sterckx, fifth place finisher at the Olympic Games. I mean, yes, you want to hear that all the time.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, that's so true. For me, that's the same way I said. Like, obviously, I really wanted to make top eight at the Olympic Games, but I kind of knew that no matter what, even if I had a bad day, I would make top eight. So I was kind of sure about that. But for me, it was just like no way I could go to the Olympic Games was the biggest achievement for me. And that's why I didn't have any pressure for me. It was just, oh, I'm just going to compete and try to do as well as I can. And obviously, I know my training sessions were going super well. So I knew that I had some possibilities to move up a few places. So yeah, but at that point, I was just super happy and super proud of myself that I actually made it. And at that point, I was thinking, wow, I actually lost all that weight. I did that myself. I stand here after this crazy time and this hard and tough time of the past two months. But even the past six years, I always trained super hard to do those big competitions and then end up making it to the Olympic Games. And I feel like at that moment, I was just realising how proud I actually am of myself to be able to do that because I was like, wow, I feel like not a lot of people would be able to do this. And I did it. And I can be super proud of myself because I did it. So that was really how I felt at that moment. So yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: What was it like checking your phone that night? Because obviously, it was quite a quite a popular moment, obviously made a bit of news. And then I mean, even seeing on your Instagram, you shared a couple of sort of images that some of the fans shared. But I mean, had you ever had that amount of messages on your phone ever when you eventually checked it?
NINA STERCKX: Oh, no, that was so crazy. Also, like, it's really funny, actually. Me and my boyfriend, we actually made a guess before I went to the Olympic Games, how many followers we thought I was going to have when I came back to Belgium.
BEN WATERWORTH: Right.
NINA STERCKX: And we were both guessing, like, I don't know how much was the guy, like 12,000, something like that. Because when I went to the Olympic Games, I had like 9,000, like a bit under 10,000. And then when we looked at it, I was like, I don't know how many it was at the time, but I was like, like 25,000 or something. And we were both like, oh, my God, what is happening here? Like even the moment I like what I looked at my phone, I was like, my phone totally blew up. Like I was trying to read all the messages, but I couldn't like keep up with it. They were like, I was reading one, and there were like five more and 20 more. And I was like, what is happening here? I don't know. So yeah, that was super crazy. And it took me such a long time. Like I really wanted to like read every single message I got and like every single comment, but it took me such a long time to get through it. But it was so crazy. And it was such a crazy feeling to we're actually like watching my competition and we're like really cheering on for me. Like it was so crazy to actually realise that because I feel like not a lot of people know me actually because I am this little girl and I haven't been in the sport for a super long time as well. I'm from Belgium. So not a lot of I know that a lot of people from Belgium know me, but Belgium is still a super like tiny country. So there are not a lot of people that actually know me. And I feel like just the fact that they were watching a weightlifting competition or like weightlifting at the Olympic Games and they saw me and they like were like, wow, this little girl is super strong. And I actually like I really want her to make this lift. That's just such a nice feeling to know that I can like inspire other people. I like that. That's so crazy because a lot of people are like also saying that they started doing weightlifting because of me. And they're like really inspired because of me or they like I really motivate them to train hard. And it's always such a crazy feeling to know that because that's actually like the reason I have an Instagram account because I don't really like Instagram too much. But the only reason is that I can like share my story and share everything and motivate other people and inspire other people as well. That's actually the only reason I have Instagram. So yeah, and it's really nice every time I got like a message or anything to say like I did that. And that's so crazy. Yeah, that's just it's it's so great. That was such a crazy moment as well. So it was so nice.
BEN WATERWORTH: I do like the drawings like this. What sort of like it's I guess you and I guess like a Disney Princess style sort of in a dress. And then there's kind of like a really nice one sort of you in your outfit. I mean, I guess that's something you never imagine that you're going to have fans like drawing pictures of you and sending that into you.
NINA STERCKX: No, that was so crazy. Like there was so many people following me from China, and all those people there were like making those paintings and like drawings and everything like that. It was so crazy. And it's super funny. Actually, they said that I was like a little Disney Princess because I was wiping my tears like this. And they thought it was like super elegant or something. But I was actually doing that because my hands were like full of chalk still. So I wasn't going to do like this, because otherwise my head would be full of chalk. So that's why I did like this. But yeah, it was super cute. So many people made like those drawings and like those paintings and like all that art of me. It was so nice to see them. I felt like super supported by so many people. It was super crazy.
BEN WATERWORTH: What was the mood? I mean, obviously, you can't unfortunately stay around that long, given competition, COVID and all that sort of stuff. But we talked a lot during the Olympics about numerous countries had their best games ever. You know, Australia, we had a very good game. New Zealand had their best games ever. Canada, like so many countries had their best games ever. Belgium had a very good game. I believe it was Belgium's best games, I think, since about 1924 or something like that. So incredibly successful. I mean, what was the mood like just amongst the Belgian Olympic team in general and coming back home? Obviously, buoyed by images like yours. I mean, obviously another Nina did very well in gymnastics, the hockey team, you know, things like that. I mean, it must have been a pretty good mood amongst the team after Tokyo.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, definitely. Obviously, when we went to Tokyo, we knew that we had a big chance for some people and like some teams to make big medals. But you never know till the day comes and everybody was like super happy for everybody. Like even obviously making big medals is like super crazy. And we are super proud of all those athletes who are making medals. But even the athletes who are like competing at the Olympic Games and making like 10th place or like fifth place or like eighth place, like everything, we are like super proud of every single athlete who is making it to the Olympic Games and just making a place there. It's so crazy. So yeah, it was definitely obviously because my competition was the first day I went back home super early. So there were not a lot of people who were like coming home with me. So we were like with five athletes or something when we went back home. But yeah, the other people like the other athletes who did really well, who came back later, it was super crazy in Belgium as well. Like everybody was like super proud of them. And now still, there's actually tomorrow night, we have like this event in Belgium. I don't know if you know it. It's like Memorial van Damme, which is like an event for athletics. And there is like this thing, we always do like the year of the Olympics. There is this event. And then a lot of people from Belgium are coming to see this event because it's like a pretty big competition. And after the competition, we do like this tour with all the Olympians from Belgium to just like wave at all the fans and everything. So that's actually really nice. So we're doing that tomorrow. And that's super crazy as well. So, yeah, a lot of people are super proud of all the athletes who went to the Olympic Games. So that's really nice because we feel like Belgium is, there are not a lot of athletes in Belgium, but we always feel like the athletes who are in Belgium are really good and always compete with a lot of passion. And we're just super proud of each other. And we try to encourage each other as much as we can. So, yeah, that's just really nice to see like people from Belgium compete really well.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was going to ask if that sort of thing, because I know in Australia we will have welcome home parades in sort of our cities. They will, you know, generally, you know, if you're from Sydney, you'll go to your Sydney one, if you're from Melbourne, you'll go to things like that. And obviously with COVID at the moment, sort of they're not really happening. But it's great to see that kind of that's something that is done there to kind of, I guess, celebrate all the Olympians, you know, medals or not. Like that's fantastic. So, I mean, is that like something that you've ever experienced before? Like, I mean, have you been there as a fan maybe in the past and kind of now you get to see this on the other side? I mean, I can't imagine this is something that you maybe would be exposed to too much.
NINA STERCKX: Well, I didn't actually go like in real life, but I definitely knew and watched this on the television a lot of times. Yeah, so also after Rio as well. So I definitely know that it's like a really nice thing they do for like all the Olympians. And it's just super nice to be there and like one more time experience and just realise like, wow, I actually went to the Olympic Games and we all went to the Olympic Games and we did super well. And we are just super proud of like ourselves, but each other as well. And that's just a really nice moment to be there and just celebrate with each other. So yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: One thing I'll quickly say, Nina, on behalf of Australia, we are still a little bit heartbroken about the hockey, but we are slowly getting over it. You broke our hearts in that penalty shootout, but hey, it's all right. We did say that if we were going to lose to any country in the world, Belgium's fine. If we had lost to New Zealand or England, we'd be pissed off. But Belgium's fine. We like you guys, so it's all right. Which obviously, initially the goal was for Paris. I mean, bonus Olympics. You've got Fizz at Tokyo now. So is that obviously now the target sort of pushing towards Paris? And is it something that you can sort of see yourself going on further than Paris? Is it sort of a long term goal to go to as many of the Olympics? Could we see you in Brisbane here in our very own backyard in 11 years time?
NINA STERCKX: Oh, yeah, I was actually like when we were in Tokyo, they actually announced that the Olympics, I don't remember the year, but it was going to be in Australia. Yeah. And I was so excited. I was like, oh, my God, I'm going to try and compete as long as I can. I'm going to make it to Australia. Yeah. So that was actually really funny. But yeah, I don't know. I feel like you never know what happens. And you kind of need to feel yourself and know, are you still motivated? Do you still like doing this for us? And how do you feel like still training so much and straining so hard for another four years? Obviously, now it's three years. So I feel like I'm just going to try and take it like one Olympics at a time. So yeah, obviously, now it's obviously Paris. But after that, I'm just going to see. Obviously, I'm still young, so I could actually make a few more Olympics if everything just goes to plan and everything just keeps on going really well. But you never know what happens. And yeah, so we're just going to see.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm just saying, I mean, you'll what, be 30 in 2030? I mean, that's still young. That's younger than I am right now, Nina. Like, come on, you've got it. You've easily got three more Olympics in you. Barbara, go to 2036. Keep going. Multiple gold. I'm just counting them all basically kind of how many you could get there. We do close off with a series of fun sort of get to know you style questions which I'll get to in just a moment. But I believe sort of outside of weightlifting, astronomy and physics kind of is where you're at in studying. Tell me a bit about astronomy. What sort of led you to studying astronomy? Because it's a fun subject to study, I can imagine.
NINA STERCKX: Well, actually, yeah, the reason I studied this like astronomy and physics is because I really like physics. And here in Ghent, where I study at the university, you don't have physics without astronomy. So I needed to do it together.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, I was going to say, I thought maybe the other way around that you do physics, you have to do astronomy, but that's the other way. Okay, well, tell me about physics then. I want to learn more about physics. What sort of drew you to studying physics?
NINA STERCKX: I just really like math and like physics and like chemistry and all those sciences, actually, because I don't know, I've always been really good at it when I was super young as well. It was super easy for me, and I always liked it so much. And also I feel like it is really good for me to do something. Obviously, I'm really good at weightlifting, and I love being a weightlifter and also a high level athlete and doing these competitions. But next to that, I also like doing something else. And I feel like studying physics is really nice for me to do those two together, because it's so different from each other. So, yeah, it's like a really good thing to do next to weightlifting. But yeah, I really like doing it. Obviously, it's not as easy as... It's pretty difficult, but I really like it.
BEN WATERWORTH: I know it's difficult that when I watch The Big Bang Theory, I don't even get half the jokes on that show just because they're physics jokes. And yeah, it goes straight over my head. Do you watch The Big Bang Theory and just go, well, this is rubbish, this is nothing, what physics is? Or is it the opposite? Like, yeah, put physics on the map, go Big Bang Theory.
NINA STERCKX: Well, I actually really like that show, but... Yeah, a lot of things are actually pretty accurate, but some are kind of difficult as well. So sometimes the jokes are a bit difficult as well, but a lot of them are pretty accurate.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you then study? Like, do you have a Sheldon that's like in class? And you're just like, oh, yeah, typical. That's a standard thing in physics. You've got a Sheldon type character in my class. There's always one. There's always one. Now, Nina, we wrap up all our interviews with a sort of a series of get to know you style questions. Now, as we sort of always say with these, these are based on it, a Team Canada questionnaire that they gave their athletes ahead of Rio and Pyeongchang. Sadly didn't do it for Tokyo, but we still like to use these. Now, there is a drawing element, which again, we always say, like, if you like to draw, if you want to do something fun, you're always welcome to draw something and send it in to us, and we can put it on social, or get some of your fans. I mean, you've got fans drawing pictures of you. So maybe if they're listening to this interview, they can draw it for you. So, you know, you got enough out there, Nina. I think that could kind of work. But I'll start off with the first question. Who to you is the greatest Olympian of all time?
NINA STERCKX: I feel like, then I have to say Simone Bals, because she's always been like an inspiration for me, because obviously I have been doing gymnastics for such a long time. But I'm also not like the person to... A lot of people always ask me, like, who is your favourite weightlifter, who is your favourite athlete? And normally I don't really have an answer to that question, because I don't really prefer one athlete over the other. And also for me, most of the time, I just prefer athletes and weightlifters who are not as talented as other athletes, but who just are super motivated and work really hard for what they want to achieve. I feel like that is how you describe an athlete. Obviously, it's nice to be super talented, but if you just want to achieve something and you just work super hard for it, that's so inspiring if you can actually do that and still make it to a big competition or make it to the Olympics knowing that you're maybe not as talented as the other people, but you just worked really hard for what you wanted. But yeah, obviously, Simone Biles is like, she's super talented as well, but I feel like she just is from another world. She's so crazy. Everything she did and even at this Olympics. So yeah, it would definitely be her.
BEN WATERWORTH: What was it like seeing Nina win a gold for Belgium? I mean, obviously, it was Belgium's first ever gymnastics gold medal. I mean, that must have been a pretty as a former gymnast to kind of see that happen at Tokyo as well.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, that's super nice as well. Obviously, we knew like before the Olympics that she had a pretty big chance to make it at the Olympics and like make that medal. But obviously, you never know. Like she trained really hard for it. But you never know what happens on that day. And other she had a big competitor as well who was like who had a big chance to make a medal as well. So you never know what happens. But yeah, it's so funny actually that we're both. We both have the same name.
BEN WATERWORTH: Good name to have, right?
NINA STERCKX: And also like I did gymnastics as well in the past. But so yeah, it's super great that she actually made that medal. And I imagine like I just know that she worked so hard for that. And she definitely deserved that.
BEN WATERWORTH: So yeah, just need to get her into weightlifting now. Back to what we were saying before, you know, transitioning over. Now you already answered this question. The next question is the first Olympics. We remember we won't need to remind everyone to make me feel old again. If you could be any superhero, who would it be?
NINA STERCKX: Oh, superhero. That's a. And it needs to be one that already exists or?
BEN WATERWORTH: No, you create anyone you want. If this is one that you want to make up, by all means, we're all ears. We'll listen.
NINA STERCKX: I'm actually right now I'm watching this show. I don't know if you know it, but I'm watching the show with my boyfriend, which is called The Flash.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yes, yes.
NINA STERCKX: And I really like that. But I really feel like this one aspect to like, which he can do is like he'll super fast because obviously everything is like going super fast. So he can like he'll super fast. I feel like that would be something I really wanted to have. Come in handy for an athlete. Just like do a training session and then be like...
BEN WATERWORTH: Ready to go...
NINA STERCKX: . be able to do one right after it. That would be really good.
BEN WATERWORTH: I like that. I feel that needs to be answered more. Like, come on, people. That's an obvious answer for an Olympic athlete, you know? Super healing, something like that. I like that. Your favourite ice cream flavour is? Oh, chocolate. Oh, yes. I love the no hesitation when you know straight away. So it's just like straight into it. And is that was that what you missed the most? Like, kind of once you sort of had to lose that weight, and then after the Olympics, was it just like straight into the chocolate ice cream?
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, that was definitely something I wanted to eat. I was super sad because in the Olympic village, they didn't have chocolate ice cream.
BEN WATERWORTH: What?
NINA STERCKX: They only had vanilla ice cream, which I ate a lot, obviously, after my competition, but still I was like, I want to have chocolate ice cream.
BEN WATERWORTH: Where's the chocolate? First no McDonald's, now no chocolate ice cream?
NINA STERCKX: I was so sad about the McDonald's not being at the Olympics as well. Like, some people were asking me when I came back home, did you have a lot of McDonald's? No, because McDonald's is not a sponsor anymore.
BEN WATERWORTH: It always baffles me that everybody, every Olympics, all people talk about is there's 50,000 condoms in the Olympics. I don't give a shit about that. I want to learn about the McDonald's. I've heard great stories on the show about how the line for McDonald's in Olympic villages goes out the door and around the corner, because who wouldn't want just free McDonald's during your whole time? That's the best thing about the Olympics. Come on.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, no, it's not there. I was so sad.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, God, hopefully by Paris, they'll get their act together and get back into sponsoring it. Come on, McDonald's.
NINA STERCKX: They should just sponsor me. That's fine as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: That is the ad listing right now. Come on now. What is it? 29,000 Instagram followers. Sell some burgers in Belgium. That'll work. Come on, McDonald's. That would definitely... You could have an ad lifting up a couple of Big Macs on the side of the bar there, like, you know, shovelling some fries in, and then be like one-handed. Like, oh, I'm seeing the ads there. That would go off in Belgium TV. I like it. If you were a baseball player, what would your World Cup music be?
NINA STERCKX: I don't know. I'm not really into music, actually. I listen to some music, like, some time, but not, not, like, frequently. I feel like... Maybe it would be like, um... Like, this song of, like, who run the, who run the world's girls.
BEN WATERWORTH: Beyoncé.
NINA STERCKX: Maybe that for a bit. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Good song. I like it. I like it. I was actually just trying to think of, if I knew any Belgian music artists as a Eurovision fan, I've definitely seen a few Belgian artists over the years, but I could not list any off the top of my head, Nina. So I'm sorry that my Belgian music knowledge has not exactly brought to the table. So if there's any great Belgian music you want to recommend, please let me know. I'm always into learning about that outside of Eurovision. I mean, do you give a shit about Eurovision? Do people in Belgium give a shit about Eurovision? Because we're weird in Australia that we care about Eurovision, and we're not even in Europe.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, we as well. A lot of people really watch it here on television and definitely are like... Yeah, for us, it's like... If you're into music, you definitely support the one person who was going to the Eurovision as well. Actually, a lot of people watch it here. So yeah, it's kind of a big thing.
BEN WATERWORTH: I actually am going to correct myself because your competitor at Eurovision this year is a band called Hooverphonic, who I actually have heard of and I have some of their music. Without going on a weird tangent here, Nina, my favourite TV show of all time is a show called Third Watch. It's a show about police, paramedics, firefighters in New York from many years ago. And there was a song they used on the very first episode, and then they closed the season out when it finished by Hooverphonic. And that's how I know of them. So when I saw they were representing Belgium, I remember this now. So I correct myself. Hooverphonic, great band, Belgian music. I don't know if they're that big in Belgium, but yeah, let's pump the tides of Hooverphonic. Not too sure about the popularity there. So, our next question. The best nickname you have ever been called is?
NINA STERCKX: I don't know if I really have a nickname, but they kind of make, they always make like a joke about my last name, because my last name is Sterckx, but Sterckx is actually strong in Dutch. So my last name is kind of strong. Nina Sterckx is strong. So they're always like, why did you start doing weightlifting? Because of your last name. Yeah, it's kind of a joke they always make.
BEN WATERWORTH: But so yeah, it was meant to be. It was written in the stars, basically, how that was going to play out. It's funny, actually, I like that when you kind of have sort of a name that kind of fits your sport. So I didn't know Dutch. You're educating me again here, Nina. Didn't have a clue about that. So there you go. In a movie about your life, who would play you?
NINA STERCKX: Who would play me? Like, you mean like an actor?
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, yeah. Like if we had the Nina Sterckx biopic, who is playing Nina in that movie?
NINA STERCKX: That's actually a really bad question for me, because I don't like watch a lot of movies or anything. So I don't know any like...
BEN WATERWORTH: You can play you. You can get into acting. There you go.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, maybe that would be good. Because I don't know if anybody would be able to like play me. I'm really difficult.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'd hope you'd be able to play yourself. Like, I think you might have a good insight into how the character works. So I hope so. So make it happen. Hey, again, as I said, by Brisbane, you'll be what, a three time Olympic gold medallist then? So I'm sure that the Belgian filmmakers will be lining up to make a film about you. If you weren't an athlete, what would you be?
NINA STERCKX: Um, like maybe Scientist, because I like science, so yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Makes sense, works well. Uh, what is your guilty pleasure snack?
NINA STERCKX: Ice cream.
BEN WATERWORTH: Ice cream, yes. Chocolate ice cream. Chocolate ice cream. Um, growing up, who was your favourite sports team?
NINA STERCKX: Um, a team, well, um, I, I, I always watched like, um, individual athletes, like way more. So I always watched like, athletics and gymnastics, but like, team sports. Like, for example, right now, I really like following basketball, especially like the team from Belgium, because some people in that team are actually like really good friends of mine as well. But so like I would probably say basketball, but yeah, other than that, I didn't really watch like team sports when I was younger, so yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just sort of with that when you've got friends on the team and kind of get into the sport, I mean, is something like the NBA big in Belgium, or is it more sort of the European leagues as sort of the teams that people are watching basketball when it comes to that?
NINA STERCKX: Well, for me, like I only watch actually the women's team.
BEN WATERWORTH: Right.
NINA STERCKX: So I don't know, like obviously I followed like the. I don't know how you say it, but like the man basketball, but like only with three players.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, the three, the three x three.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: That was fun to watch.
NINA STERCKX: Those because those competed at the Olympics as well for Belgium. But other than that, before that, I actually never watched men do basketball. So I only follow the women from like, they call them the Belgian cats, but yeah, so I only follow them. Nice.
BEN WATERWORTH: So we remember watching that because I mean, you beat Australia in the round Robbins. And I remember watching that game going, oh, didn't realise Belgium was good at basketball. And there we go. We lost to you. So clearly, clearly we're good. And yeah, I think it was the 3x3, 4th? Was it you lost the bronze? Which was it? I love the 3x3. That was a lot of fun to watch that.
NINA STERCKX: Yeah, they were 4th. Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Great sport. Great sport. Glad that's in the Olympics. Now, you kind of answered this one. The most recent TV show that you binge watched, is it The Flash? Is that what you're watching right now?
NINA STERCKX: Yes. Yes. We're watching it right now. We're now at the season 5. So, but it's actually for both of us, it's actually the second time we watch it. But the last time we watched it, we only watched still season 5. So now it's still season 8, so we can still watch three more seasons. So we're really excited for that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great. Awesome. Where is your favourite place, sorry, to compete in the world?
NINA STERCKX: My favourite place to compete? I don't know, I feel like I would have two answers to that question, or it would be in Ghent, here, like where I live. And then there are like a lot of people who I know, who can come and watch that competition, that would be really nice. Or it would be a big world championship. Or no, I would rather say like the Olympic Games, because I feel like the Olympic Games are like super nice as well. But it's just super different because obviously, if you have like this small competition in Ghent, a lot of people who you know can come watch. And it's just like, it feels like it's just an activity with like friends and family. But if you're going to the Olympics, obviously, that's a super crazy competition as well. But there are a lot of people who just get to know each other. So I feel like those two would be my favourites.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, I'm just thinking too for Paris. I'm assuming we were allowed to have some crowds by then, fingers crossed.
NINA STERCKX: So I really hope so.
BEN WATERWORTH: What's a weightlifting crowd like Nina? Are they rowdy? Are they kind of like excitable? Like when you're up there and you've got the weights above your head, they're cheering you on. I can imagine it's a pretty intense atmosphere.
NINA STERCKX: Yes, but at the same time, for example, when you're watching a soccer game or anything, they're always making noise, like all the time. They're just all the time cheering you on. But for a weightlifting, like the most part of the competition, the crowd is super silent, because obviously you need to concentrate yourself to make the lift. But obviously when you made the lift, everybody is cheering you on. But while you're making the lift or like right before, everybody is super silent. There is also like no music at all. So yeah, that's definitely different.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's a good feeling then when you've got the lift, though, and they start cheering you, and then you kind of do the adrenaline pumping. You've got it above your head. You know, the lights go on and the cheering, that must be a pretty epic feeling.
NINA STERCKX: Oh, yeah, definitely.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I'd love to see, like, I mean, I guess it probably throws your concentration off. But can you make it like a, I don't know, a field event at the athletics? We can start getting the crowd like clapping, like, come on, yes, clap. Like, get me lifting. I want to pump me up before I lift this. Or will that just throw you off too much?
NINA STERCKX: I think like in the beginning, it would really throw you off. But like, if you get used to it a bit more, maybe. But I don't know. I feel like it would be better if it's just silent.
BEN WATERWORTH: So you can try that at your next tournament. And if it works for you and then that helps you win the gold in Paris, remember who to thank who gave you that idea. So just, just, just saying. Your favourite video game is?
NINA STERCKX: Video game.
BEN WATERWORTH: If you play video games. You don't play a lot of games? Okay. I'm just looking here. We should have mentioned, we generally sort of try to get an athlete, like a questionnaire from the same sport. And unfortunately, Team Canada didn't ask any questions to weightlifters. Or if they did, they didn't publish them on the website. So I'm using Daniela Paz, who is a wrestler. And her answer for that one was Mario Party on Nintendo 64. Probably a bit before your time there, Nina. I remember Nintendo 64. Again, showing my age. Your biggest fear in life?
NINA STERCKX: I guess that would be losing my mum. Because I'm pretty close to her. So yeah, I definitely wouldn't like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: What's one thing you can't live without? Ice cream? I'm seeing a pattern emerge here. Best answer. I like that as well. The drawing elements here, it's got draw a picture of yourself and draw a picture of a Canadian animal. They've drawn a moose here. So, I mean, it's always a moose or a beaver. That's all I ever see on these pictures here. Nina, before we let you go, we mentioned your Instagram. If people do want to follow you and kind of check out your journey towards Paris, watch the amazing tumbling video, which I'm just absolutely entranced by, and see the drawings of the fans. Where can people follow you? Where can people stay up to date with what you're doing?
NINA STERCKX: Well, I have a page on Instagram, which is called Nina... How do you say that? Dot, Nina Dot Sterckx. And my last name is like C and then a K and then an X. It's kind of difficult to write, but if you just write Nina, you're going to find it pretty quickly. So yeah. But yeah, I post basically anything on there, just about my journey, but about school as well. I like everything basically. So yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic. Check it out. It's a lot of fun. And as I said, I keep watching that tumbling video. I got tempted to try it, but I wanted to do this interview, so I probably would have hurt myself pretty badly. And you would have gotten a message from me saying, hey, in hospital, try to do what you did on Instagram and kind of failed. Nina, it's been a lot of fun chatting with you, learning about your Olympic experiences and everything else in between. We really look forward to seeing you in Paris in a few years' time, in Los Angeles, in Brisbane. Keep going on with Swazzo's and we'll get you back on the show in a few years' time with that gold medal around your neck. How does that sound?
NINA STERCKX: That would be incredible. I'd love that.
BEN WATERWORTH: And a massive, massive thanks there to Nina. And yeah, I'm pretty sure if I, my calculations are correct off the top of my head. Our first ever time we've had an Athlete of the Day, at least an Athlete of the Day nominee on the show. So stay tuned. We may have some more coming your way very, very soon. But it's also great to get athletes on from countries outside, of course, of Australia and Canada. It's obviously our main focus here on Off The Podium, given we are a dual Australian-Canadian podcast. But of course, we're covering a few bases now. Obviously, we had plenty of Americans on the show. We've had Kiwi. We've had someone from Switzerland, Jamaica. Now we can add Belgium to that list. So keep an eye out. We may have some other countries coming your way very, very soon. But absolutely great chat there with Nina. Moving forward, we've got some more interviews coming your way, other great episodes. And the lead up to Beijing, of course, summer and winter athletes to get your appetite wet between now and those games. And as always, if you want to stay up to date with who we've got coming on the show or what else we've got happening, hit us up on social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Simply search for Off The Podium. And while you're online, why not go to a great podcast service such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher? I'm speaking squeaky because I'm that excited speaking about Stitcher. And I have no idea where that accent was going. Search for Off The Podium on any of those services. Any good podcast host would edit that out then. Hit subscribe, rate us at a five. We'd love to see what you think of the show. And drop us a message. We'd love to, again, hear what you think of the show. And maybe you've got somebody you'd like us to get on the show, an idea for an episode, anything along those lines. We're always open to hear that feedback and hear what you think of the show. Big thanks once again to Nina and thanks to everyone for listening. My name is Ben. This is Off The Podium. We'll speak to you next time and as always, go left.
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