Eythora Thorsdottir will compete this Saturday at the Austrian Open. While you’re anxiously waiting for videos, here’s a translation of the interview she gave to De Telegraaf.
Translation from Dutch by Elisabeth
Q: Describe yourself in five words. Who is Eythora Thorsdottir?
A: Ehm, let’s see… Ambitious, passionate, disciplined, and sometimes a little jolly. How many is that? Four? Okay, one more… I think I would go for artistic then, yes.
Q: When is the last time you cried?
A: The day before yesterday. Nothing special, I cry now and then. Sometimes you just have to let it out. I had a rough training session and it all didn’t go the way I wanted. At the end of a day like that, I’ll get tears in my eyes. An accumulation of setbacks like that can overwhelm me. It feels like a wasted day to me, I just always expect the best from myself. After that kind of day I only hope for one thing: please, let tomorrow be better. Because I need to improve myself with every training.
Q: What do you like about yourself?
A: I’m proud of myself for combining two things. Besides gymnastics, I’m studying musical theatre at Lucia Marthas Institute for Performing Arts. Right now I’ve put my studies on hold because I only have dance classes left. For the next year and a half, all my focus is on the Tokyo Olympics. Gymnastics is
Q: Do you deny yourself a lot of things for gymnastics?
A: People ask me “Do you never go out?” The answer is no, I have never gone out in my life. “Don’t you miss it?” is the next question. But then I think, how can you miss something you’ve never experienced? The same goes for drinking. I’ve never had a drop of alcohol. I don’t feel any need at all to try it. Even just because I don’t know what kind of effect something like that has on me. I’m not the kind of person who wants to try everything. I’ve had this discipline now for so long, that it’s kind of become what grounds me, something to hold on to. Why would I change that? Without drinking and partying, I’ve accomplished the things I have so far. That’s much more important to me.
Q: Are you Icelandic or Dutch?
A: That’s an impossible choice to make. During sports, my Dutch pride comes to the surface. But at home when we’re speaking Icelandic, there’s not much Dutch-ness to be found. I’m both. We go to Iceland at least once a year. When the plane starts to descend towards Reykjavik, something happens to me. It’s a lovely feeling. I have a lot of respect for the mentality of Icelandic people and I’m happy to have gotten some of that myself. They set a goal for themselves and then do whatever it takes to reach it. That is something I get very
Q: Do you have a guilty pleasure?
A: No, not really. I think I haven’t eaten any french fries or potato chips for at least 5 or 6 years. I’m really strict with food. Only on Saturday night I get a bit wild and allow myself a dessert. I’ll have a piece of chocolate cake or whatever, and I’m set for the next week again. That’s fine. My boyfriend has super unhealthy eating habits. He goes to McDonald’s so many times a month. I can sit next to him in the car as he goes to the drive-thru. I just smell his food and I’m good.
Q: If you could trade lives for a day with a famous Dutch person, who would you choose?
A: I’d go for René Van Kooten or Leontien Van Moorsel. I have a lot of respect for both of them. René Van Kooten really lives for musical, he does everything with such passion. I’ve heard stories that he has a tough life, and that it’s not always easy for him. So I’d like to find out where he keeps getting his drive from.
I’ve met Leontien a couple of times. If you see her now, after her struggle with anorexia, looking so good, plus also helping others who go through the things she has dealt with – it’s wonderful.
Q: What is the last book you’ve read?
A: Dimma, by Ragnar Jónasson, an Icelandic author. I read it in Icelandic, purely to get a little better at it. My parents are both from there. I grew up with the language, I can speak and understand it. But because I’ve never been to school in Iceland, I never learned to read it. So it wasn’t a quick read the way a Dutch book would be.
Writing in Icelandic is even harder. That’s something I’d like to develop more, later. Though it will take some time.
Q: What did you dream about last night?
A: I don’t remember. I dream about gymnastics mostly. And something weird always happens. Last week, for example, I dreamed I was at a competition and was yelling really loudly at national team coach Gerben Wiersma. When I woke up all I could think was “Huh, I would never do that!?” I have a great relationship with him and when something is wrong, we just talk about it calmly. Or I’ll dream I’m doing a routine, fall nose-first onto the floor and suddenly there’s a huge hole in the floor. That kind of thing. It’s always competition-related but with a really strange context.
Q: What’s your best characteristic and what’s your worst?
A: It’s actually kind of the same one that combines both. When I’m training and I’ve set a goal for myself, for example, to hit four bars routines, I really have to succeed. If I don’t, I can get very frustrated. My best character trait is that I always want to keep fighting. But that can work against me
