ITF

110 SYDNEY 2000 WOMEN'S DOUBLES SILVER K ristie: It's a moment you always saw on TV and you are like, that's not going to become reality, and then all of a sudden you are on the podium. I'm happy I have photos because it went by so quickly. Miriam: It was mixed emotions. We lost the final in 51 minutes so we were a little disappointed, but on the other hand when we won the semifinal we said that silver was probably the highest medal we could get realistically, because Venus and Serena [Williams] were at the top of the game. When we walked on, there were a lot of other Dutch players there to celebrate with us, and that was a special moment. To see the Dutch flag going up, yeah, I had goosebumps over my whole body. The road to the finals was exciting. We had match points against us in the second round against Australia and also in the quarterfinals against Thailand. Holland won 25 medals at the Sydney Olympics, the best ever, and it was nice to be part of that. We felt really special, with all the celebrations afterwards and with the Queen and the tour through The Hague and Rotterdam, through my village, Kristie's village. Kristie: The really hard part at the Olympics is to concentrate on your own sport and enjoy the others. There is so much entertainment, not just the sports, and it's easy to lose focus. We found the right balance. Miriam: 24 hours is too short. Every evening we passed some house in the Village and there were the swimmers, the table tennis players, the hockey players. We were trying to make some friendships. We did a lot of talking but you had to go to bed also. You have to be strong. Kristie: I remember when we went to the swimming pool to watch Pieter van den Hoogenband and Ian Thorpe race against each other. We really wanted to go there but we didn't have tickets so we dressed up like swimmers, the same gear, everything. We turned our credentials backwards and I was nervous doing that. When we got out of the bus and through security we were sitting right next to the pool, but it was so busy they started to check credentials again. We were not making eye contact with these guys! I had my camera and I videoed it. There were 17,000 spectators in there and to hear that roar was probably the best memory. Miriam and I have known each other since we were 11 so to have something like this together, that's really special. Miriam: I'm still the same person but it adds something they can't take away from you. The older you get the more proud you get. Kristie: If you have a chance to go to the Olympics, always go. It's a memory for life. For us it's the cherry on the cake. The medal made it unforgettable. To see the Dutch flag going up, yeah, I had goosebumps over my whole body. KRISTIE BOOGERT & MIRIAM OREMANS Netherlands

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