Triton's Old Four win main Utrecht sports award

In a full Beatrix Theater at the Jaarbeursplein, the four rowers and their coxswain were presented with the prize by alderwoman Eva Oosters. The Utrecht rowers owe the prize to their victory on Varsity, the most important student rowing competition of the year. 

Triton coach Coen Eggenkamp was also named best sports coach of the year later in the evening. Triton members in the hall cheered the rowers and him en masse.

Jaap Schenck, a member of the winning team and a recent graduate with a Master's degree in Communication & Organization, called on the municipality to stop building bridges over the Merwedekanaal during his acceptance speech. Utrecht rowing associations have long complained about the growing lack of good rowing water in the city.

Besides Schenck, Master's student in Life Sciences Eli Brouwer, Bart Lauwers (Pharmacy), Casper van der Steen (Hogeschool Utrecht) and coxswain Ellen Bijkerk (Veterinary Medicine) rowed their way to eternal Triton glory. 

The other nominated teams were the basketball players of 3x3 Utrecht, the volleyball players of VV Utrecht and the Utrecht stunt team Hercules which sensationally knocked Ajax out of the cup tournament. Both VV Utrecht and Hercules feature several UU students.

UU Law graduate Josine Koning, a goalkeeper for the Dutch women's hockey team which became the European Champions, failed to win the award of best Utrecht athlete of 2023. The award went to paralympic snowboarder Lisa Bunschoten, who also won last year.

In the "sports compliment" category, which rewards sporting initiatives with high social impact, the project Swimpact, created by Tessa Laan, UU alumna of the Master's in International Development Studies, was nominated. The project focuses on providing swimming lessons to refugees. However, the prize went to Marlou Peeters, one of the driving forces behind the return of FC Utrecht's women's team to the highest level.