Hockey player Burg aims for European Championship gold after difficult period

"I feel like my old Joosje again," says Burg. "Fresh, fruity, happy, and ready to go. I'm looking forward to it. I missed that feeling for a while: it's not for me. I'm someone with a lot of emotions and joy, but I didn't feel that in the first few months after winning Olympic gold."

It was all different than I'd imagined. I'd been warned about the black hole after the Games, but I thought: that's not going to happen to me. It turned out to be tougher than expected. I noticed that physically too. I was constantly having something. If it wasn't my knee, it was my glute, leg, or neck. Mentally, it was pretty good, although I noticed I was a bit flatter.

Left hamstring torn

In April, she tore her left hamstring during the warm-up for the Gold Cup, a match she played with her club Den Bosch. "At first, I thought: I'll be fine, just like with my broken nose at the Games," says Burg. But the injury turned out to be more serious than expected. "It was awful, but it was also a clear signal from my body: it's over. My body told me to take a break, instead of just pushing through. I think I needed it, and I came out stronger. When I started rehabilitation, I knew: this is a fresh start. I can get closure for a while. I never doubted whether I would make it to the European Championships. I thought: I'm going to show what I can do."

The aftermath of her broken nose and not being able to play in the Olympic final in Paris proved to be her biggest challenge. "I didn't play the dream I always aspired to, the Olympic final. That was a disappointment. It was painful, and I didn't give in to it before. Now I do. Missing that final doesn't make the gold any less special. I find the medal even more rewarding now than I did six months ago. The goal now is to play that final next time. But first, I have to give it my all at the European Championships."