Within the adapted rowing in the Netherlands, Corné de Koning is a great man. His list of honours includes numerous prizes. The silver medal of the Tokyo Paralympics is the most striking. In addition, he also won many world titles. He did this in both the mixed class (a Paralympic discipline) and the skiff (non-Paralympic).
De Koning was scouted by the rowing association about twelve years ago. Up until that point, he had been active as a wheelchair hockey player. He was put in a boat with Esther van der Loos, who already had more experience. After the Paralympics of Rio de Janeiro (fourth place), he got Annika van der Meer as a partner, with whom he broke through to the absolute world top. After Tokyo (second), she focused on her social career and he continued with Chantal Haenen. After that collaboration collapsed in 2023, Esther van der Loos was prepared to fill the vacancy. The fact that she is 56 has never been seen as a problem by either of them.
