Ruben Houkes

Ruben Houkes began his pursuit of sport at the age of five when he was brought to the local judo association. He quickly found that he had a talent as a judoka and won several titles in his youth. This led to Houkes joining a larger judo association in Alkmaar. In Alkmaar he was coached by Louis Wijdenbosch, who had been manager of the Dutch team from 1997 to 2000. When he was Houkes was 15, Wijdenbosch advised him to join the best-known Judo alliance in Holland: Kenamju Haarlem, led by famed coach Cor van der Geest.

It has been under van der Geest that Houkes has become won of the world’s best judokas in the 60-kilo class. In 2005 Houkes won the bronze medal at the European Judo Championships, a feat he repeated a year later. In 2007, Houkes took a step further, and won the gold medal in the 60-kilo class at the World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro. This quick progression as one of the best judokas in Europe and now the world has set Houkes up as an odds on favorite for gold this summer in Beijing.