Nouchka Fontijn
Olympic boxer on performing under pressure
Nouchka Fontijn stood at the top of world boxing for many years. As the first Dutch female boxer to compete at the Olympic Games, she participated twice and returned home with a medal both times: silver in Rio, bronze in Tokyo. She is trained as a physiotherapist and personal trainer, wrote the book Falling and Fighting Back, and gave a TEDx talk. She also crossed the finish line at Special Forces VIPS and reached the semi-final of Expedition Robinson. With these experiences, she uniquely bridges the gap between performing in the boxing ring and in the workplace. Her keynotes are always fully customized — this is what sets her apart from many other speakers on this subject.
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Biography
For years at the world's top
Nouchka Fontijn (1987) won medals as a boxer at European and World Championships around the globe. As the first Dutch female boxer, she competed at the Olympic Games: Rio 2016 brought silver, Tokyo 2021 bronze. Two Games, two medals in a sport where the difference between winning and losing happens in seconds.
Physiotherapist and personal trainer
Alongside her sports career, Nouchka completed her training as a physiotherapist and qualified as a personal trainer. This background explains why vitality is not a side issue for her: she understands how body and mind actually connect with performance, and can substantiate that rather than simply assume it.
Television Adventures
In 2021, she successfully participated in the first season of Special Forces VIPS, where she crossed the finish line. In 2024, she reached the semi-final of Expeditie Robinson. Both programmes gave her something the boxing ring could not: experience with group dynamics and collaboration under extreme conditions.
Speaker and author
Since quitting professional boxing, Nouchka has focused on giving lectures and physical boxing clinics. In 2023 she gave a TEDx talk and in 2024 her book Vallen en terugslaan was published. She has also been an ambassador for the Right To Play foundation for years, driven by her commitment to helping people in difficult circumstances.
Expertise
Performing at the decisive moment
An Olympic final lasts a few minutes and there is no second chance. Nouchka knows what happens in your head and body in such a moment, and how you prepare yourself for it. She translates that into situations her audience recognizes: a pitch, a negotiation, a decisive conversation. Not as a metaphor, but as the same mechanism in a different setting.
Falling and Rebuilding
The title of her book is no coincidence. In elite sport, you lose more often than you win, and silver means you've lost your final competition. Nouchka addresses what happens after a setback: how much time you give yourself, when you start again, and what you lean on. For teams going through a difficult period, that's more valuable than a success story.
Body as the Foundation of Performance
As a physiotherapist and personal trainer, Nouchka understands the connection between physical and mental well-being from both sides. She demonstrates why vitality is not a luxury that remains once work is done, but the condition under which you can perform at all. And which foundation you need to have in order before mindset techniques can make any difference.
Collaborating Under Pressure
Boxing seems like an individual sport, but it is carried by the team around you. Special Forces VIPS and Expedition Robinson added two other forms to that: completing assignments under extreme conditions and surviving within a group with conflicting interests. Three different schools in collaboration, where teams immediately recognize something in themselves.
Themes
Mindset
Her favorite subject. Performing under pressure, staying focused on decisive moments, showing courage and dealing with setbacks. Decisive in the ring, just as much in the boardroom.
Success and game plan
The building blocks that, according to Nouchka, recur everywhere. With The Perfect Gameplan she shows how she gives them substance and which steps are leading.
Teamwork
Gather the right people around you and then learn to truly work together. Lessons from the boxing ring, but equally from the Special Forces and the group dynamics of Expedition Robinson.
Vitality
Good care for body and mind as the foundation of every success. Grounded in her background as a top athlete, physiotherapist, and personal trainer.
Resilience After Adversity
Falling and striking back, and what happens when you lose at the moment everything depends on it, and how you rebuild.
Why Nouchka
Two Olympic medals
Silver in Rio, bronze in Tokyo, plus a string of medals at European and World Championships. She doesn't talk about performing under pressure as a concept, but as something she has done at the highest level.
Always fully customized
Every keynote is tailored to what's happening within your organization. She enjoys brainstorming themes that fall slightly outside her standard topics, provided she has personal experience with them.
Well-founded, not merely inspirational
As a physiotherapist and personal trainer, she can explain why something works. That elevates her story above the typical athlete lecture.
Energy and interaction
Characteristic of her sessions are the interaction and energy she brings. After the presentation, there is always room for a Q&A where the audience can ask anything.
Theory and experience in one day
Unique in her offer: she combines a lecture with a real boxing clinic. First the stories, then experience firsthand what it takes. A frequently requested combination that always works.
Bilingual deployment
Nouchka delivers her sessions in both Dutch and English, for small and large groups. Convenient for international teams or a bilingual program.
Talks
Performing in the ring and in the workplace
45 to 90 minutesThe Perfect Gameplan
The building blocks that, according to her, underlie all success, whether in the ring or in an organization. Concrete, with practical tools instead of generalities.
What an Olympic Final Teaches You
Nouchka takes the audience to the moments when everything was at stake, and shows what really happens with focus, doubt, and courage.
Questions from the audience
Each session concludes with a Q&A where the audience can ask anything. Afterwards, there is time to have her book signed, view the Olympic medals, and take photos.
Boxing clinic
Experience the sport yourself
Without prior instruction, purely the clinic. Participants are put to work and challenged to experience boxing firsthand.
Out of your comfort zone, together
Everyone starts at the same point: unfamiliar territory. That's precisely what makes it a good tool for getting a team to do something together that no one handles routinely.
Energy as a starting point
Fun and teamwork are at the forefront. Suitable as part of a team day, as a closing activity, or as a counterbalance to a program that is otherwise mostly sedentary.
Reviews
“Iron-strong keynote session by Nouchka at the ECH day. An inspiring story about mindset (relatable) and stepping out of your comfort zone (very relatable). A wonderful story to listen to and participate in. Highly recommended!”
“Very inspiring story with a beautiful analogy between top sports and the business world. Highly recommended for people looking for more energy and ways to achieve their set goals. Top notch.”
“Nouchka delivered an inspiring and energetic keynote during our Keune event with 150 international guests. She effectively conveyed the mindset of a top athlete to the audience, which was exactly the message I wanted to share. This gave our distributors the extra motivation to build our brand with even more passion worldwide. The highlight of the day was a sparring session between my clients and her. Thankfully, they all made it out alive!”
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