Jozef Klaassen is a rower from the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

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Klaassen qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 with the Dutch eights forming a team with Olaf van Andel

Olaf van Andel

Olaf van Andel is a rower from the Netherlands.Van Andel took part in the World Championships of 2007 in Munich becoming fifth in the coxed fours...

, Rogier Blink

Rogier Blink

Rogier Blink is a rower from the Netherlands.Blink took part in the World Championships of 2005 in Munich becoming fifth in the coxed fours...

, Meindert Klem

Meindert Klem

Meindert Klem is a rower from the Netherlands.Klem qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with the Dutch eights forming a team with Olaf van Andel, Jozef Klaassen, Rogier Blink, David Kuiper, Diederik Simon, Olivier Siegelaar, Mitchel Steenman and cox Peter Wiersum.Klem began rowing in...

, David Kuiper

David Kuiper

David Kuiper is a rower from the Netherlands.Kuiper took part in the World Championships of 2007 in Munich becoming tenth in the eights...

, Diederik Simon

Diederik Simon

Diederik Rudolf Simon is a rower from the Netherlands, who competed for his native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics...

, Olivier Siegelaar

Olivier Siegelaar

Olivier Siegelaar is a rower from the Netherlands.Siegelaar qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with the Dutch eights forming a team with Olaf van Andel, Jozef Klaassen, Meindert Klem, David Kuiper, Diederik Simon, Rogier Blink, Mitchel Steenman and cox Peter Wiersum...

, Mitchel Steenman

Mitchel Steenman

Mitchel Steenman is a rower from the Netherlands.Steenman took part in the World Championships of 2007 in Munich becoming tenth in the eights...

 and cox Peter Wiersum

Peter Wiersum

Peter Wiersum is a rowing cox from the Netherlands.Wiersum was born in Sutton Coldfield, Great Britain.He took part in the 2007 World Rowing Championships in Munich and led the Dutch lightweight eights to the World title...

. Due to an injury Siegelaar was replaced by Reinder Lubbers

Reinder Lubbers

Reinder Lubbers is a male rower from the Netherlands.The son of former Dutch cricket team captain Steven Lubbers, Lubbers took part in the World Championships of 2007 in Munich becoming fifth in the coxed fours...

during the tournament.

Klaassen is 6'6" (1.96m) tall. An investment banker, he was a student of Boston University in Finance and Economic, from which he took a sabbatical for a year to train and compete in the Olympics.

His parents are Dutch, which allowed him to row for the Dutch team, although he rankled Dutch fans when he told a New Zealand paper "I'm a Kiwi."