A Gold medal like this brings with it certain obligations at home. You were allowed to dine with all Olympic and paralytic medalists in the country at King Willem-Alexander. Did it taste well?
The food was ... (gestures with thumb and forefinger to the mouth, laughs). But not only that: I even sat at a table with the king. We were all spread out across the room, always six people per table. And I actually sat with him. It was very beautiful. The palace was incredibly large.
Does the king have good manners?
(laughs) Yes, very regal (laughs) He was also very well prepared. He knew that I was the top scorer and how we played against Germany and against China in the final. That was very cool. Then there is Princess Margriet, the sister of the former queen. She is the patron of Paralympic sport in the Netherlands. At the Paralympic Games in London and Rio de Janeiro, she watched many of our games. After the games she was always in the mixed zone. She was not there in Tokyo due to the corona pandemic. So it was very nice to talk to her again.
The visit to King Willem-Alexander and Princess Margriet was certainly just one of many appointments. Were you able to recover after returning from Tokyo?
(laughs) No, not that much. We had appointments, appointments, appointments. We landed at 3pm on Monday, were in the family lounge at 4pm for about an hour and a half. My sister, my father and my mother received me there. It was very nice to be with the family again. I've seen her twice in the past year and a half. But it was also nice to see the families of the team. These are basically my adoptive families, we are all very close to one another. I haven't hugged that many people in a year and a half.
How did you go from here?
At 8 p.m. I was home and was surprised with a party. I just thought: It's nice that you are all here, but I would like to go to sleep (laughs). I managed 30 minutes. Then I had to go to bed. It was very exhausting, but so great that all the people were there for me. I've been living there for a year now and all the houses were decorated with flags for my return. That was a lot of love.
When did the alarm go off on Tuesday?
The next morning I had to get up early and got into the car at 7.45 a.m. At 10 o'clock I was in The Hague on the bus to the Prime Minister including a TV appointment. Then we went to the king in the bus. Then we drove to the Kurhaus - also with a TV show. At 11 p.m. I was at home. I was really tired. On Wednesday and Thursday I had a few media appointments, with a newspaper, with Japanese media. Friday morning I had the first time off. But only until noon. I sat in the car again and drove to my mother's. Then on Saturday my family gave me a surprise party. It was busy.
You really deserve to be celebrated. However, in the second group game against China you got a damper at first. Was the defeat a surprise?
It was a surprise that we threw so badly. That China was so good came as no surprise. China was in my top four from the start. For me it was great that we played against China in the final. We played particularly badly on the offensive in the preliminary round. In the final we found our game quickly and it was so much better than before.
Was the preliminary round game against China a sticking point for you?
In the end, it wasn't all that bad to lose the game against China. As a result, we had easier opponents in the quarter-finals in the cross-over games. We were fantastic against Japan. And then against feared opponents Germany in the semifinals - there are now no feared opponents.
The game against the German women was open for a long time. What was decisive in the end?
We had more cohesion in the team. That is our great strength - no matter where we are, who we are on the field with. Our strongest point was the defense. If that goes well, we know that it will also work at the front. It was similar in the final. China led again after the first quarter. That was ok for us. We said to ourselves that the Chinese couldn’t shoot so well for the whole game - and we’re in great shape.
In the final, however, you yourself scored fewer points than in the other games ...
Others took care of that, for example Jitske Visser and Bo Kramer. Karina de Rooij also scored more. I had two or three opponents on me - the others were just free. I thought: do it. For me it is better if the team scores more broadly and we have three or four players who score in double digits.
At halftime it was 33:20. After the third quarter the game was practically decided. How was the feeling in the last few seconds on the way to the Gold?
Huuuu. For the last ten seconds we got the ball over the center line. Then the feeling was: We made it. We made it. I just looked where Ilse is (Arts, Ed.) And then there was a party, a big crowd of jubilation. This feeling is indescribable. When I woke up in bed the next morning with the medal next to me, I just thought: We made it, it wasn't a dream.
Did you get a lot of messages after that?
Yes, too many (laughs). I used the flight to reply to all messages. There was so much love in it. So many people have watched the games on TV in the Netherlands. The support from home was very great. I even got messages on Instagram from the city where I lived for a few years. They looked after me especially. Insanity. The support was amazing. Also in the stadium: The volunteers always had a big party for the athletes, they applauded and cheered. That was great.
Now you are back in Hanover after more than a year. How are you?
That’s great. I am very happy to be here again. Hannover United is my family too. The last year was really exhausting, I only spent the whole time with the national team in the "Dutch Bubble". I didn't see anyone else. I missed the team, I missed the fans. But I watched all Hannover United games live and had regular contact. Now I'm finally back again.
More information about Mariska Beijer
Interview | Goldene Rückkehr: Beijer strahlt über den Dächern Hannovers
Saisonstart | 1. Rollstuhlbasketball-Bundesliga - alle Spiele, alle Punkte
Paralympics | Gold-Party! Beijer holt mit den Niederlanden Paralympics-Sieg
paralympics | Finale perfekt! Beijer lässt Team Germany ins Leere greifen
Paralympics | 82:24 - Mariska Beijer überrollt mit den Niederlanden Japan
Paralympics | Mariska Beijer ist mit Team NED aufs Viertelfinale fokussiert
Paralympics | 109:18 - Beijers Niederlande machen es gegen Algerien deutlich
Paralympics | Beijer greift mit den Niederlanden gegen China daneben
Interview mit Mariska Beijer | So viel zu Hause trainiert wie nie zuvor
Interview with Mariska Beijer | It was easy for me to sign a new contract