Hindrik Harmannus Arnoldus "Henk" Grol (born 14 April 1985 in Veendam) is a retired Dutch judoka.

Henk Grol
Grol in 2012
Personal information
Full nameHindrik Harmannus Arnoldus Grol
NationalityDutch
Born (1985-04-14) April 14, 1985 (age 39)
Veendam, Netherlands
EducationCommunications, Marketing
Alma materJohan Cruijff College
OccupationJudoka
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight110 kg (243 lb)
Websitehenkgrol.nl
Sport
Country Netherlands
SportJudo
Weight class–100 kg, +100 kg
ClubKenamju
Coached byMaarten Arens, Ronald Joorse
Achievements and titles
Olympic GamesBronze (2008, 2012)
World Champ.Silver (2009, 2010, 2013)
European Champ.Gold (2008, 2015, 2016)
Medal record
Men's judo
Representing the  Netherlands
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London ‍–‍100 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2009 Rotterdam ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2010 Tokyo ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2013 Rio de Janeiro ‍–‍100 kg
European Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Baku ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Minsk +100 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Lisbon ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2016 Kazan ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2009 Tbilisi ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2010 Vienna ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2013 Budapest ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2021 Lisbon +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Tel Aviv +100 kg
World Masters
Silver medal – second place 2012 Almaty ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2013 Tyumen ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Qingdao +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Doha +100 kg
IJF Grand Slam
Gold medal – first place 2011 Paris ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2018 Osaka +100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2020 Paris +100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2018 Ekaterinburg +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Paris ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Paris ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Tokyo ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Abu Dhabi +100 kg
IJF Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 2010 Rotterdam ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2011 Baku ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2011 Abu Dhabi ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2011 Amsterdam ‍–‍100 kg
Gold medal – first place 2014 Budapest ‍–‍100 kg
Silver medal – second place 2009 Hamburg ‍–‍100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Düsseldorf ‍–‍100 kg
World Juniors Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Budapest ‍–‍90 kg
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Sarajevo ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Sofia ‍–‍90 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF285
JudoInside.com14777
Updated on 25 May 2023

Judo career

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Grol competed in the 2007 European Judo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in the men's under 90 kg, as a replacement for Mark Huizinga, who cancelled last minute due to personal problems.

He won gold in the men's under 100-kilo class at the 2008 European Judo Championships in Lisbon, Portugal. He was the youngest European Champion of that year, only 22 years old.

After a highly competitive race against Elco van der Geest, Grol ended up being the 2008 representative for the men's 100 kg category for the Netherlands at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. There, he reached the semifinals, where he was beaten by Askhat Zhitkeyev from Kazakhstan. He went on to win bronze, beating Levan Zhorzholiani from Georgia.

He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals, where he lost to Dimitri Peters of Germany.[1] Grol went on to win the bronze medal, beating Hwang Hee-tae in his bronze medal match.[1]

He competed at the 2018 European Judo Championships in Tel Aviv where he ended third.[2]

In 2021, he won one of the bronze medals in his event at the 2021 Judo World Masters held in Doha, Qatar.[3][4]

Outside of Judo

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After the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro he considered starting a mixed martial arts career and trained with Gegard Mousasi in Amsterdam. Eventually he decided to quit training MMA due to safety considerations.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "90 – 100kg (half-heavyweight) men results – Judo – London 2012 Olympics". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Judo - Henk Grol : " Now, I felt physically stronger "". 4 May 2018.
  3. ^ "2021 Judo World Masters". International Judo Federation. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  4. ^ Gillen, Nancy (13 January 2021). "Riner brings IJF World Judo Masters to conclusion with heavyweight gold medal". InsideTheGames.biz. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Henk Grol overwoog MMA: 'Maar dat werd niets' | MMAplanet". www.mmaplanet.nl. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017.
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  Media related to Henk Grol at Wikimedia Commons