Tyrone Sterkenburg: “Becoming a Buddhist monk helped me in Greco-Roman wrestling”

For some people, Buddhism and Greco-Roman wrestling could be considered contradictory in nature.

While the Bhudda’s teachings emphasise calmness and inner peace, wrestling is one of the most abrasive and confrontational sports on the Olympic programme.

But for 22-year-old Netherlands grappler, Tyrone Sterkenburg, it’s the perfect match.

*“*My mum is a Buddhist from Thailand and when I was 16 years old, I became a monk for the summer. That greatly improved my mental focus and my spirituality,” Sterkenberg, who competes in the 97kg category, told Olympics.com from the 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

*“*It showed me a whole new side of life because I was used to training two times a week, studying and being busy all the time. And then all of a sudden at the monastery I couldn’t eat, run or do fast movements.

“I used to have rage before my matches and I was always so nervous. But now I actually close my eyes and try to meditate a little bit for the match, to have a little bit more focus and calmness.

*“*It helps to be calmer because wrestling is like playing chess. Who wants to give up the first passivity? How does your opponent step on the mat? What's your next step? If you just go there with rage, it's like you're already two points behind in my opinion.

“I still meditate with my mum quite often, and she really teaches me to be forgiving and not to act on emotions. In this way, Buddhism is very close to Stoicism. And I would say that's the philosophy I live by."

Switching from boxing to wrestling

While it is undoubtedly an unorthodox profile that Sterkenberg has in the sport, he has not done it alone.

His twin brother, Marcel Sterkenburg, who represents the Netherlands in the 87kg division, has been with him all the way.

Growing up, the brothers began their sporting lives in boxing and judo. After several years of grappling with each other in training, it was suggested that they try wrestling, and they immediately became hooked.

*“*I think it's more pure. It's the fight... the mental fight is harder. The stepping on the mat, the losing. It's a more complete sport for me,” he said with a smile.

However, despite the fact that the Sterkenbergs had found their calling and decided to commit to one sport, they still had obstacles to overcome.

In a country with no recent wrestling pedigree, funding was initially hard to come by.

*“*It was very hard to convince the Olympic team of the Netherlands that it was possible to go to the Olympics and even have potential for medals and also to get finance for the sport there, because in the Netherlands, they only financed the sports they already have the medals in,” Tyrone continued.

*“*But when Marcel became the junior world champion and I got second place in 2021, they finally started to take us seriously and improved our budget.”

From the wrestling mat to modelling

The siblings’ athletic achievements, combined with their unique profile, quickly gained the attention of the Dutch public and fashion brands who offered them modelling work.

Seeing as they were already breaking new ground as elite wrestlers from the Netherlands, the brothers were happy to pose for photos and further break away from the stereotype of a typical wrestler.

“Before I went up to the 97 [kg weight division], I always got asked by photographers to do photo shoots with my twin brother because they really liked that we were twins,” he said.

“I did a lot of modelling, but I would come from training with all the scratches and the photographers were a little bit mad because they had to edit everything out!”

Bringing more attention to wrestling through social media

Embracing these opportunities meant that the brothers became social media stars at home.

Today, they both enjoy followings of over 100 thousand in Instagram, which would be impressive if they were from a major wrestling nation like the USA, let alone the Netherlands.

On top of benefiting financially, the brothers use their platform to inspire more kids to take up wrestling back home, and motivate their followers with inspiring training montages.

“Every day I get messages from people telling me that they started wrestling because of us. They also ask for wrestling tips. I try to answer as much as possible and really enjoy that interaction," he said.

“Thirty years ago, wrestling used to be a very big sport at home and there were a few hundred wrestling clubs. But when I started, there were only around 10 in the whole country.

“But along with the achievements of my brother, we have started building this whole new level in the Netherlands. I think we almost tripled the number of people wrestling in the past few years. So we have really tried to capitalise on the media coverage and bring more attention to the sport."

Dreaming of Paris 2024 Olympics

Sterkenburg believes that there is nothing more influential than success on the mat.

It’s what first brought them into the spotlight, and shed blood and sweat for.

As such there is little chance that the commercial economics graduate would let any of his extra-curricular activities distract him from fulfilling his dream on the wrestling mat: competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

“I keep social media life separate from training. My coach always used to say, “Training is the holy point of the day,” meaning that it’s the most important thing.”

*“*Going to the Olympics used to be a dream, but now it's in reach. I'd give up my left leg to compete at Paris 2024, and won’t stop working until I’m there.”