Ginni van Katwijk (born 1985) is a Dutch high diver.

Ginni van Katwijk
Personal information
Born (1985-03-05) March 5, 1985 (age 39)[1]
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Sport
SportHigh diving
University teamUniversity of Houston Cougars

Career

edit

Van Katwijk dove at the University of Houston.[2] She began diving as a performer on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines after graduation.[3]

She made her Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series debut in Saint-Raphaël, France in 2021, becoming the first diver from the Netherlands,[2] as well as the first married couple, with husband Matt Cooper, to compete at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.[4] Van Katwijk placed fifth in high diving at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships.[5]

In 2023, Cooper and van Katwijk became the first married couple to compete at the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup.[2] She placed eleventh, with 232.70 points, at the World High Diving Championship in Fukuoka, Japan.[6] Van Katwijk placed fourteenth at the women's 20-metre at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha.[7] She placed second at the Northern Ireland event at the 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, her first ever podium finish at a Red Bull event.[8]

Personal life

edit

Van Katwijk is married to Matt Cooper (born (1989-03-04) March 4, 1989 (age 35)[9]), an American high diver. They met while both were competing in university-level diving in Texas, with van Katwijk diving for the University of Houston, and Cooper for the University of Texas at Austin. Cooper proposed in 2016, and the couple married two years later.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Ginni van Katwijk". Red Bull. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  2. ^ a b c Eggert, Gregory (2023-05-27). "Cruise ship performers husband and wife duo competing at the High Diving World Cup". World Aquatics. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  3. ^ a b Wade, Stephen (2023-07-24). "Adrenaline isn't the only lure for professional high divers at the world titles". AP News. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  4. ^ Magill, Chris (2021-06-12). "Cliff diving couple make World Series history". Red Bull. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  5. ^ Weber, Natasja (2023-07-23). "Blauwe voeten en stijve kuiten horen erbij voor Ginni van Katwijk na een sprong van 20 meter". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  6. ^ "WK: Elfde plaats highdiver Ginni van Katwijk". KNZB (in Dutch). 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  7. ^ "Van Katwijk sluit WK high diving af als dertiende". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  8. ^ "Aussie cliff diver Iffland nails Northern Ireland win". Blue Mountains Gazette. 2024-07-20. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  9. ^ "Matt Cooper". 2011-12 Men's Swimming and Diving Roster. The University of Texas at Austin Athletics. 2012. Retrieved 2024-08-27.