Matthijs Vellenga 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...

.

His career highlight so far was in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 where he won the silver medal in the eights together with Michiel Bartman

Michiel Bartman

Michiel Bernhard Emiel Marie Bartman is a former rower from the Netherlands, who won a total of three Olympic medals during his career...

, Geert-Jan Derksen

Geert-Jan Derksen

Geert Jan Derksen is a Dutch rower.-References:*...

, Gerritjan Eggenkamp

Gerritjan Eggenkamp

Gerritjan Eggenkamp is a Dutch rower.Born in Leiden, Netherlands, Eggenkamp started rowing aged 12 at Het Spaarne rowing club in Heemstede, and first competed internationally as a Junior, coming 9th in the coxless four at the 1993 Junior World Championships...

, Daniël Mensch

Daniël Mensch

Daniël Theodoor Mensch is a Dutch athlete who won the silver medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics for rowing as a member of the 8-man Dutch rowing team.-References:...

, Diederik Simon

Diederik Simon

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

, Jan-Willem Gabriëls

Jan-Willem Gabriëls

Jan-Willem Gabriëls is a rower from the Netherlands.Gabriëls started rowing in 1997. He started rowing in the eights, but after the 2004 Summer Olympics he switched to the fours...

, Gijs Vermeulen

Gijs Vermeulen

Gijs Vermeulen is a rower from the Netherlands.His career highlight so far was in Athens at the 2004 Summer Olympics where he won the silver medal in the eights together with Michiel Bartman, Geert-Jan Derksen, Gerritjan Eggenkamp, Daniël Mensch, Diederik Simon, Matthijs Vellenga, Jan-Willem...

 and Chun Wei Cheung

Chun Wei Cheung

Chun Wei Cheung was a Dutch rowing cox and Olympic silver medallist.Cheung started coxing with Nereus Rowing Club in Amsterdam in 1992, later joining the Dutch National Team and coxing the men's coxed pair at the 1996 World Rowing Championships to bronze...

.

After the Olympics Vellenga, Gabriëls, Vermeulen and Geert Cirkel

Geert Cirkel

Geert Cirkel is a rower from the Netherlands.Cirkel started rowing in 1994. He mainly rows in the fours and occasionally participates in the quadruple sculls. In the quadruple sculls he won a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships in Luzern...

 started a new mission on the road to 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 fours. Their formation was successful straight away with a second place in the 2005 Luzern World Cup as well as the World Championships in Gifu

Gifu, Gifu

is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...

 that year. In 2006 they got another second place in Luzern and a third in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

. In Eton

Eton, Berkshire

Eton is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The parish also includes the large village of Eton Wick, 2 miles west of the town, and has a population of 4,980. Eton was in Buckinghamshire until...

 where the World Championships were held they won another bronze medal. They were the team to beat in 2007 after winning the World Cup in Luzern and becoming second in both Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 and Linz

Linz

Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...

. However at the 2007 World Championships in Munich they had to be satisfied with another bronze medal. With a World Cup win in Poznan

Poznan

Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...

 and a second place in Luzern in 2008, they 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...

.