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Verona van de Leur

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Verona van de Leur
Personal information
Full nameVerona van de Leur
Country represented Netherlands
Born (1985-12-27) 27 December 1985 (age 38)
Gouda, The Netherlands
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International
Former coach(es)Boris Orlov
Retired2008
Medal record
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2002 Debrecen Floor Exercise
World Cup Final
Gold medal – first place 2002 Stuttgart Floor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Stuttgart Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Stuttgart Uneven Bars
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2002 Patras Team
Silver medal – second place 2002 Patras All-Around
Silver medal – second place 2002 Patras Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Patras Balance Beam
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Patras Floor Exercise

Verona van de Leur (born 27 December 1985) is a retired Dutch artistic gymnast and adult film performer. She was named Dutch Sportswoman of the Year in 2002 after winning the all-around silver medal at that year's European championships and the silver medal on floor exercise at the world championships.

Van de Leur retired from gymnastics in 2008, after which she suffered personal difficulties, including a conviction for blackmail and a prison sentence. She began performing in adult webcam shows and then in adult films.[1][2]

Biography

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Van de Leur, born in Gouda, South Holland, the Netherlands, began with gymnastic at 5 years of age at gym T.O.O.S. Waddinxveen. At the age of 9, she started to train at Pro Patria in Zoetermeer.

Her first national appearance was at the Dutch National Championship in 2000. She was the junior Dutch all-around champion and won three event finals. One year later, in 2001, she was the Dutch all-around women's champion. With the Dutch team she surprising took the fifth place in the World Championship in Ghent. This performance made them the Dutch sports team of the year 2001.

2002 was Van de Leur's break-out year on the international stage. She won five medals at the European Championship in Patras, Greece, including silver medals in the team competition, the all-around (behind Svetlana Khorkina) and on beam.[3] She also won a bronze medal on floor exercise. Many believe[who?] Verona should have won gold on the floor exercise finals, due to a judging error that cost Van de Leur 1/10 of a point, dropping her to 3rd place. Van der Leur then won silver on the floor exercise at the World Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, and gold at the World Cup Finals on the same apparatus. She was elected 2002 Dutch Sportswoman of the Year and once again they were sports team of the year.

Van de Leur and Renske Endel were drawn as a reserve for the World Cup of 2003 in Anaheim and the Dutch team was not placed among the top twelve. Therefore, the gymnast didn't qualify for the Olympics in Athens. Then it came to a rift between her coach Frank and Van de Leur, leading her to move to The Hazenkamp in Nijmegen, the club of trainer Boris Orlov. In 2007, Van de Leur won the Dutch all-around champions for the fourth time. At the National Championships in Nijmegen she also won gold on beam and floor exercise and bronze on bars.

On 19 June 2008, Van de Leur publicly announced her retirement from gymnastics. Conflicts with the gymnastics federation and a lack of motivation also caused by a problematic situation at home, have reportedly played an important role in her decision.[4]

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In early May 2011, Van de Leur was convicted of blackmailing an adulterous couple she had been following.[5] She served 72 days in prison.[1]

Adult performances

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After being homeless for two years and in jail, Van de Leur saw a way out in late October 2011 with the adult film industry.[6] She decided to work as a webcam girl and then started her own adult website,[7] which includes adult films.[1] She only worked with her boyfriend and quit as an adult performer in November 2019.[8]

Competitive history

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Competition Total Apparatus
All around Team Vault Bars Beam Floor
Zoetermeer Toekomst Tournament 1995 6
Dutch national championship 1995 3
Dutch national championship 1996 8 5 5
Ecoair (international tournament, NL) 1997 4 1
Dutch national championship 1997 3 4 2 4 2
France – Netherlands 1998 8 1
Dutch national championship 1998 5 4 5 6
Berolina Cup 1998 7 2
Leverkusen Cup 1998 2
Ecoair (international tournament, NL) 1998 1
Clubteam Nationals 1998 1
Budapest Cup 1998 1 1
Sidijk Tournament 1999 2
Lugano Cup 1999 1 1
Como Cup 1999 2 1
Dutch national championship 1999 2 1 1 2 3
European Youth Olympic Days 1999 3 3 5 3
Berolina Cup 1999 3 1
Clubteams Nationals 1999 1
HGT (international tournament, NL) 1999 3
Honeywell Cup 1999 1 1 6 1 1 1
Youth Europeans 2000 11 3 3 4
Dutch National Championship 2000 1 1 1 1 3
Beronila Cup 2000 4 1
HGT (international tournament, NL) 2000 1 1 1 2
Clubteams Nationals 2000 1
Massilia Cup 2000 6 1 5
Parijs Bercy 2001 6 1 4
Cottbus 2001 4 6
Cottbus Winners Final 2001 1
Ploiesti 2001 6 2 1 3
Dutch National Championship semi final 2001 1 1 1 1 2
Dutch National Championship 2001 1 3 1 1 1
World Championship 2001 9 5 6 8
Massilia Cup 2001 5 3 4 1 3
HGT (international tournament,NL) 2001 1 2 1 1 1
Clubteam Nationals 2001 1
Glasgow 2001 2 2 2 1
USA Visa Cup 2002 3 3 6 2 2
Cottbus 2002 3
Cottbus – Winners Final 2002 2
European Championship 2002 2 2 2 3 3
Dutch National Championship semi final 2002 1 1 2 3 1
Li Ning Cup 2002 2 1 3 2
Dutch National Championship 2002 1 1 2 1 1
HGT (international tournament, NL) 2002 1 1 1
Massilia Cup 2002 4 3 1 2
World Championship 2002 7 2
DTB World Cup Final 2002 3 3 7 1
World Championship 2003
World Championship final 2004 7
Dutch National Championship 2005 3
European Championship 2007 9
Dutch National Championship 2007 1 3 1 1
European Championship 2008 8 9

In culture

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Van de Leur is the subject of the song Verona van de Leur by Ellen ten Damme[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Het bizarre leven van Verona van de Leur". Helden Online (in Dutch). 24 October 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  2. ^ "NRC - Nieuws, achtergronden en onderzoeksjournalistiek".
  3. ^ "Khorkina beats Dutch challenge for European hat-trick". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 21, 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  4. ^ "Turnen is leuk, maar zonder spelletjes".
  5. ^ "Van de Leur Pleads Guilty to Extortion'". 19 April 2011.
  6. ^ Matt Majendie; Don Riddell. "Verona van de Leur: The star gymnast who reinvented herself as a porn actress". CNN. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  7. ^ "Verona van de Leur: 'Mannen zijn gebruiksvoorwerp'". De Telegraaf. 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  8. ^ Matt Majendie; Don Riddell. "Verona van de Leur: The star gymnast who reinvented herself as a porn actress". CNN. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  9. ^ "Ellen ten Damme - Verona van de Leur". 27 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
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Awards
Preceded by Dutch Sportswoman of the Year
2002
Succeeded by