Just four days ago it was revealed that Dutch National Team mainstay Inge Dekker had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Dekker who has had tremendous success on the Dutch women’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay at the last three Olympics and won the 50 butterfly at the 2011 World Championships has been overwhelmed by the messages and support she has received from the swimming community.
She shared the following on her Facebook page this morning (the following is a rough translation):
Thank you all for the sweet messages! It means a lot to me to receive so much support from all over the world. Friends, acquaintances and even people I don’t know personally, make an effort by sending me kind words.
To me it still seems somewhat unreal. I don’t feel sick or experience any discomfort. That’s why I went swimming anyway last week. Swimming is a passion and it clears my head, especially during this difficult time. And as long as competing in Rio2016 is still not completely ruled out, I will keep swimming!
Currently Dekker ranks fifth in the world in both the 50 and 100 butterfly and finished fourth in the 50 in Kazan.