Nicole van der Velden (born 26 October 1994 in Madrid) is a Spanish-Aruban sailor. She was born Aruban, but received the Spanish nationality by the Spanish government in 2019.[3] She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the Nacra 17 race with Thijs Visser; they won two races and placed 16th in the final standings.[4] She was the flag bearer for Aruba in the Parade of Nations.[5] She campaigned a 49er FX towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games[6] and is presently campaigning an IQ Foil windsurfer towards the 2024 Olympic Games.

Nicole van der Velden
Van der Velden at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Born26 October 1994 (1994-10-26) (age 30)
Madrid, Spain
Height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Sailing career
ClubAruba Beach Cats[1]
CoachPim Nieuwenhuis

Originally from Noord, Aruba, Van Der Velden was born in Madrid to a Dutch father and a Venezuelan mother. She took up sailing in 2008 following her father, Martin, who worked as a technical officer with the Aruba Sailing Association.[1] She speaks four languages fluently: Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish and English.[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Nicole van der Velden[permanent dead link]. nbcolympics.com
  2. ^ "Nicole van der Velden". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  3. ^ "El gobierno concede la nacionalidad a Nicole Van Der Velden". Mundo Deportivo (in European Spanish). 20 September 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Nacra 17 Mixed - Standings". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony - Flag Bearers" (PDF). Rio 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Patricia Suárez comienza el último día en plazas de Tokio". 8 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Nicole van der Velden Rio2016". YouTube (in Papiamento (Aruba)). 7 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Nicole van der Velden". sailing.org. World Sailing.
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Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for   Aruba
Rio 2016
Succeeded by