Henk Grol

Henk Grol, 2012 in London

Hindrik "Henk" Harmannus Arnoldus Grol (born April 14, 1985 in Veendam ) is a Dutch judoka . In 2008, 2015 and 2016 he was European champion.

Career

Until 2003 Grol competed in the light middleweight division, the weight class up to 81 kg. In 2003 he became Junior European Champion.

From 2004 to mid-2007, Grol competed in the middleweight division (up to 90 kg). In 2004 he won the bronze medal at both the Junior European Championships and the Junior World Championships. In 2005 he won his first World Cup tournament in Warsaw. In 2006 he was Dutch champion.

From mid-2007 to 2016 he competed in the light heavyweight division (up to 100 kg). In 2008 he won the World Cup in Vienna. In the final of the European Judo Championships in Lisbon in 2008 , he defeated the Poles Przemysław Matyjaszek . Four months after the European Championships, he defeated Matyjaszek in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics . In the semifinals he was defeated by Kazak Asqat Schitkejew , the fight for the bronze medal Grol won against Georgian Levan Schorscholiani . At the 2009 European Judo Championships in Tbilisi he reached the final against the Russian Tagir Chaibulajew , Grol received the silver medal. In front of his home crowd, Grol also reached the final at the 2009 Judo World Championships in Rotterdam, but was defeated by Kazakhs Maxim Rakov . In 2010 he won silver medals at the two most important events of the year. In the final of the European Judo Championships 2010 in Vienna, he lost to the Belgian Elco van der Geest . At the Judo World Championships 2010 in Tokyo, the Japanese Takamasa Anai won against Grol. In 2011 the Dutchman won the Grand Slam in Paris and won three Grand Prix tournaments in Baku, Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam. In the quarter-finals of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Grol was defeated by the German Dimitri Peters . With victories over the Czech Lukáš Krpálek and the South Korean Hwang Hee-tae , Grol won his second Olympic bronze medal after 2008.

Lukáš Krpálek won against Grol in the final of the 2013 European Judo Championships in Budapest. At the Judo World Championships 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Grol won the quarterfinals against Dimitri Peters and in the semifinals against Lukáš Krpálek, in the final he was defeated by the Azerbaijani Elxan Məmmədov . A year later, Grol lost to the Russian Tagir Chaibulajew in the quarter-finals of the Judo World Championships 2014 in Chelyabinsk and ultimately finished seventh. In 2015, the European Championships were held as part of the European Games in Baku . In the final, Henk Grol won over the Czech Lukáš Krpálek. A year later, Grol won the final of the European Judo Championships 2016 in Kazan against the Belgian Toma Nikiforov . At the 2016 Olympic Games, Grol lost to French Cyrille Maret in his second fight .

After a year break, Grol started in the heavyweight division in 2018. At the European Championships in Tel Aviv he lost in the quarterfinals to Lukáš Krpálek, the battle for bronze Grol won against the Georgian Guram Tuschischwili . The following year, the European Championships were held as part of the 2019 European Games in Minsk. Grol reached the battle for bronze and won it against Lukáš Krpálek.

Web links

• Henk Grol at JudoInside.com
• Henk Grol in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )