Erica Terpstra
Encyclopedia
Erica Georgine (or Georgina) Terpstra (born May 26, 1943 in The Hague
) is a retired Dutch freestyle
swimmer, theosopher
, sports journalist
, state secretary and member of parliament. Between late 2003 and 18 May 2010 she was chairperson of the NOC*NSF. She also studied sinology
from 1962 to 1966, but never graduated.
in Rome
where she came sixth in the 100m Freestyle, and fourth in the 4x100 Medley Relay. Following the Olympics she joined the HZ&PC swim team in The Hague. While a member of this team she was again chosen to be an Olympic athlete for The Netherlands and won two medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo
: the bronze medal in the 4x100 metres Freestyle Relay and the silver in the 4x100 metres Medley Relay (together with Pauline van der Wildt
(starting), Toos Beumer
(second relay) en Winnie van Weerdenburg
(third relay)). At her only individual start, on the 100m Freestyle, she finished in fourth position in the final.
In addition to her Olympic exploits, Terpstra won the 1962 European championships and was champion of The Netherlands several times.
After her swimming career Terpstra became a teacher, teaching Dutch to Chinese
immigrants. Following that she became a sports journalist. She was elected to the parliament for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) in 1977, just barely making it into parliament on a seat appointed to the VVD in the fractional division. She remained in parliament through 2003 though, with a four-year break (1994–1998) during which she served as state secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport in the Kok-I cabinet. Upon leaving parliament in 2003, she was the senior member of the House, having been re-elected with a large number of preference votes
each term (311.000 in 1994).
On October 21 2003 Terpstra was elected chairperson of the NOC*NSF, beating out Ruud Vreeman (the NOC*NSF board-nominated candidate) in the election. As chair in 2005 she was the first to present the new Fanny Blankers-Koen Trophy, which was named for legendary Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen
. Terpstra presented the award to Anton Geesink
, Sjoukje Dijkstra
, Nico Rienks
and Ard Schenk
in the new skating rink in Turin
, a few months before the start of the 2006 Winter Olympics
. She was supposed to award an FBK Trophy to Johan Cruijff as well, but he couldn't make it due to obligations at the pool drawing for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
in Leipzig
.
During her tenure with NOC*NSF she was always well-known for being present at every major sporting event in which Dutch athletes competed and for being exuberantly enthusiastic at every success. Terpstra retired from NOC*NSF in May 2010.
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
) is a retired Dutch freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
swimmer, theosopher
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, sports journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, state secretary and member of parliament. Between late 2003 and 18 May 2010 she was chairperson of the NOC*NSF. She also studied sinology
Sinology
Sinology in general use is the study of China and things related to China, but, especially in the American academic context, refers more strictly to the study of classical language and literature, and the philological approach...
from 1962 to 1966, but never graduated.
Biography
During the early 1960s Terpstra was a well-known freestyle swimmer in The Netherlands, specializing in the 100 meters distance. She participated in the 1960 Summer Olympics1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
where she came sixth in the 100m Freestyle, and fourth in the 4x100 Medley Relay. Following the Olympics she joined the HZ&PC swim team in The Hague. While a member of this team she was again chosen to be an Olympic athlete for The Netherlands and won two medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
: the bronze medal in the 4x100 metres Freestyle Relay and the silver in the 4x100 metres Medley Relay (together with Pauline van der Wildt
Pauline van der Wildt
Paulina Jacoba van der Wildt was a Dutch swimmer who won the bronze medal in the 4x100 metres Freestyle Relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Her teammates in that race, who clocked in at 4:12, were Toos Beumer, Erica Terpstra and Winnie van Weerdenburg.-References:* *...
(starting), Toos Beumer
Toos Beumer
Catharina Johanna Beumer is a Dutch swimmer. She won the bronze medal in the 4×100 metres freestyle relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Her team mates in that race, clocked in 4:12.0, were Pauline van der Wildt, Erica Terpstra and Winnie van Weerdenburg...
(second relay) en Winnie van Weerdenburg
Winnie van Weerdenburg
Wilhelmina van Weerdenburg was a Dutch swimmer. Born in The Hague, she won the bronze medal in the 4x100 metres Freestyle Relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Her team mates in that race, clocked in 4:12,0, were Toos Beumer, Erica Terpstra and Pauline van der Wildt...
(third relay)). At her only individual start, on the 100m Freestyle, she finished in fourth position in the final.
In addition to her Olympic exploits, Terpstra won the 1962 European championships and was champion of The Netherlands several times.
After her swimming career Terpstra became a teacher, teaching Dutch to Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
immigrants. Following that she became a sports journalist. She was elected to the parliament for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) in 1977, just barely making it into parliament on a seat appointed to the VVD in the fractional division. She remained in parliament through 2003 though, with a four-year break (1994–1998) during which she served as state secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport in the Kok-I cabinet. Upon leaving parliament in 2003, she was the senior member of the House, having been re-elected with a large number of preference votes
Open list
Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected...
each term (311.000 in 1994).
On October 21 2003 Terpstra was elected chairperson of the NOC*NSF, beating out Ruud Vreeman (the NOC*NSF board-nominated candidate) in the election. As chair in 2005 she was the first to present the new Fanny Blankers-Koen Trophy, which was named for legendary Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen
Fanny Blankers-Koen
Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen was a Dutch athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She accomplished this as a 30 year old mother of two, during a time when many disregarded women's athletics...
. Terpstra presented the award to Anton Geesink
Anton Geesink
Antonius "Anton" Johannes Geesink was a Dutch 10th-dan judoka from Utrecht. He was a three-time World Judo Champion , Olympic Gold Medalist and won 21 European championships...
, Sjoukje Dijkstra
Sjoukje Dijkstra
Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra is a Dutch figure skater. She is the 1964 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion , five-time European champion , and the six-time Dutch national champion .Following the retirement of Carol Heiss in 1960, who...
, Nico Rienks
Nico Rienks
Nicolaas Hessel Rienks is a former rower from the Netherlands and two-time Olympic gold medallist....
and Ard Schenk
Ard Schenk
Adrianus "Ard" Schenk is a former speed skater from the Netherlands, who is considered to be one of the best in history. His first Olympic success came in 1968, when he won a silver medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics. Between 1970 and 1972 Winter Olympics, Schenk won three consecutive World...
in the new skating rink in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, a few months before the start of the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
. She was supposed to award an FBK Trophy to Johan Cruijff as well, but he couldn't make it due to obligations at the pool drawing for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
During her tenure with NOC*NSF she was always well-known for being present at every major sporting event in which Dutch athletes competed and for being exuberantly enthusiastic at every success. Terpstra retired from NOC*NSF in May 2010.
Trivia
- Terpstra has a Theosophist background. She is very drawn to BuddhismBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. Rather than considering herself a Buddhist though, she refers to herself as a "life-long student of Buddhism". - On 8 June 2008 Terpstra received the Major Bosshardt Prize for her exceptional works for Dutch society.
- Terpstra made her movie debut in 2004 in the movie version of the children's book Pluk van de PettefletPluk van de PettefletPluk van de Petteflet is a children's book by Dutch writer Annie M.G. Schmidt. First published in 1971, it remains in print and is one of the most popular Dutch books for children, and the second most popular book by Schmidt...
by Annie M.G. Schmidt. She played the mayor. - On December 10, 2008 Terpstra presented a book entitled Help, I'm losing weight! (Dutch: Help ik val af!; ISBN 978-90-9023789-3). This describes how she lost 40 kilos in six months.