PyeongChang 2018: Jeroen Kampschreur aiming high

“Of course I want to repeat my performance from the World Championships at the Winter Paralympics. That has been my biggest achievement in my career so far and it would be a dream come true to win gold in PyeongChang.”

The Netherlands’ Jeroen Kampschreur has high hopes ahead of the Paralympic Winter Games, from 9-18 March, despite showing an inconsistent performance throughout the World Cup season in the men’s sitting.

The 18-year-old kicked off his season with two golds at the Europa Cup on home soil in Landgraaf, but could not enjoy the same success in the World Cup circuit. Kampschreur sealed two silvers and two bronze medals to finish fifth in the overall rankings, far from the podium led by Norway’s Jesper Pedersen.

“My performance at World Cup races had ups and downs,” he said. “It was hard for me, with some equipment failures. But I am happy that I could still grab some medals and am still full of confidence in the run-up to PyeongChang 2018 because trainings are going well.”

Kampschreur burst onto the international scene in the 2016-17 season, when he became the first Dutch Para alpine skier to win a world title after claiming gold in the super combined at the World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy.

He went on to win two more gold medals at the competition in the slalom and giant slalom. Kampschreur also ended third in the overall World Cup rankings behind Japan’s four-time Paralympic medallist Taiki Morii and Austria’s three-time Sochi 2014 bronze medallist Roman Rabl.

“Of course I want to repeat my performance from the World Championships at the Winter Paralympics,” said Kampschreur. “That has been my biggest achievement in my career so far and it would be a dream come true to win gold in PyeongChang.”

It will not be the first time that the Dutch teenager runs on the Paralympic slopes as he took part in the PyeongChang 2018 Test Event last season, winning one gold and one silver in the super-G, and two silvers in the slalom and giant slalom.

“Yes, that Test Event went well for me,” he said.

Kampschreur, who serves as ambassador for the Johan Cruyff Foundation in the Netherlands, took up the sport at age seven and has not stopped ever since. “Alpine skiing is the fastest Paralympic sport. I like it because it is dangerous and you can go very fast,” he said.

“It gives you such an adrenaline kick and it feels so good when you do a good run.”

The Paralympic Winter Games take place in PyeongChang, South Korea from 9-18 March. Tickets can be purchased here.