Sylvana van Hees

Started: She took up the sport at age 16. "I've always liked basketball, but thought you needed two hands to really get it right. When I participated in a clinic, I was immediately told that I had a talent for it. I was invited to come and train at a club in Middelburg [Netherlands]." (unieksporten.nl, 28 Oct 2019; sitness.nl, 01 Jan 2018) Reason: "I looked for a sport for a long time. Exercise is good for you, especially if you are in a wheelchair, because of course you get a lot less movement. Some of the sports I tried came easily to me. Too easy. That quickly became boring. Wheelchair rugby looked great, but it wasn't challenging enough for me. A lot of people don't have that much strength in their arms, I do. When I was 16 I came into contact with wheelchair basketball and I liked it so much that I continued to do it." (ad.nl, 30 Jun 2019) Milestones: She was part of the Dutch squad that won the Netherlands' first Paralympic gold medal in women's wheelchair basketball at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Additional Info: STOMACH REDUCTION After she began competing in wheelchair basketball she lost a significant amount of weight, and also decided to have a stomach reduction. "I weighed 120 kilograms at the time [2012]. I lost 23 kilograms in one year. It wasn't enough for me yet. An acquaintance suggested a stomach reduction. After many conversations, I decided to do it. A year later, I weighed just 50 pounds [22 kilograms], which meant I had lost a total of 70 pounds [31 kilograms]. I now get exactly the amount of food that suits my body proportions and can use my energy optimally." (sitness.nl, 01 Jan 2018; pzc.nl, 11 Mar 2018)