Lars is a top judoka
‘I want to finish my studies quickly’
Door Ana Tudose
By Ana Tudose
Ana Tudose
Four days a week, Lars van Oostrum is on the mat at Kardinge as early as 8 a.m. for an hour and a half of technical training. Two of those sessions are followed by strength training: that’s when he does deadlifts of up to 200 kilos. And then there are also two evenings a week reserved for competition training.
But on the weekends, the Dutch national judo champion in the under 21 category is free. Usually, that is. ‘Judo is a very exhausting sport and so, compared to other sports, you need more time to recover’, Lars says. He’s sitting in the Harmonie building cafeteria, a heavy sports bag beside him, having just finished a double training session. ‘And I also don’t train on the weekends because that’s when the tournaments are. Last week, for example, I was in Poland.’
All of that means 9 a.m. classes are out for the twenty-year-old econometrics student, but he does find time to study in between his judo obligations. ‘I don’t need attendance for most of my lectures, so I’m quite flexible with my time’, he explains. ‘It’s a lot of self-study, anyway. So I mostly do that at home or at the university and I attend any lectures that I can.’
Inspiration
His dad, who used to compete when Lars was still a child, instilled the love for judo in him. ‘My dad has always been an inspiration to me’, Lars says. He didn’t compete at a high level at first and he stopped for a while, but when he picked it up again in 2015, he instantly qualified for the championships. ‘He showed me that you can do this even in your thirties. Age doesn’t really matter.’
It’s hard to make a living as a judo athlete
Unfortunately, his father is also living proof of how dangerous judo can be. He suffered a bad injury to his leg that he had to undergo surgery for and which ended his competition days. ‘Judo is a very risky sport; you get injuries all the time’, says Lars. To illustrate his point, he shows the knuckle of his ring finger: it is swollen to almost twice its size.
That’s why Lars could not put all his faith in pursuing a judo career. Not going to university wasn’t even a consideration. ‘It’s hard to make a living as a judo athlete. You only stand a chance if you’re in the top ten. But for me, continuing with a degree seemed like a logical thing to do. I was capable of doing it, so why not? I liked mathematics, but I didn’t want to go for pure, abstract mathematics. The combination of maths with economics is what attracted me to econometrics.’
Wildervank
It was a plus that the UG offered the study, he says. ‘I live with my parents in Wildervank, 30 kilometres from Groningen, and I wanted to continue my judo training at Kardinge. If I hadn’t found a study programme that I liked here, I would have had to move.’
This way, he saves a lot of time, because he doesn’t have to shop for groceries, cook, or do laundry. ‘And there is a lot of that with all the training that I do. It’s not that I want to take advantage of my parents or anything, it just makes sense with my schedule. Not to mention that rent is quite expensive nowadays.’
Juggling two busy schedules is not an easy feat, but learning has always come naturally to Lars: he went to a school for gifted kids. He passed his first year at uni with flying colours, passing all his exams on the first try. ‘I had an overall grade of 7.3, which I think was quite good. It was only in my second year that I had two resits. One exam I had to retake four times, which was funny because it was supposed to be an easy one. Everyone had passed it before I did.’
Partying
Now in his third year, he’s just started working on his bachelor thesis on the topic of forecast combinations to predict inflation. ‘I have to work on it today because I’m a bit behind, but I always catch up. It should be fine.’
It’s easier to maintain friendships with the people from judo
Between judo and studying, free time is hard to find. But Lars doesn’t mind about missing out on parties and nights out. ‘Most of the time I’m either in preparation for a tournament or another event, but I also put my study before partying. I want to finish my studies as soon as possible, so I can focus on my judo career.’
That doesn’t mean he neglects his social life. ‘I would say that half of my friends are from judo, and half are from my study. It’s easier to maintain friendships with the people from judo, though, since they have similar schedules. So it’s more common for me to do something with them, have dinner together or something like that.’
He is not sure what he will do after he graduates. ‘I am thinking of doing a master’s degree, but I don’t know yet where and on what topic.’
He does have a clear goal for his sport, however: having made the Dutch top three in his age and weight category, Lars now wants to qualify for the European Championships, which will take place in September. ‘If I win another match in Paris in three weeks, then I should be eligible for the European Cup. I hope I’ll get there.’