Introducing Lobke Berkhout

From high-level athlete to working at Nederlandse Loterij? What’s that like? Lobke Berkhout (Amsterdam, 11 November 1980) is a Dutch sailor and five-time world champion in the 470 class. She has worked for Nederlandse Loterij as a Sponsor Manager for three months.

There are some people who still don’t believe it when they talk to me, but it’s true: I have ‘changed course’ and am no longer an elite athlete. Since 1 February, I have been working four days a week at Nederlandse Loterij. The first three months have flown by. Time flies when you’re having fun!

When I announced my retirement from high-level sport after the 2012 Games, my work became much more flexible. I had a good life but was still missing a bit of a challenge and some professionalism. A concrete goal as I always had in high-level sport.

The return to a ‘familiar’ Olympic campaign was very valuable, and these third Olympics gave me a lot of insight into who I am as a person now, what I stand for and where my motivations lie.

I seized the opportunity to enter the labour market through Nederlandse Loterij with both hands. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best in marketing (three gold and one silver Loeki and many other awards). And at a data-driven, agile organisation.

Of course, there are many aspects and features I can take with me from my sports career, but I also learn a lot from how the different multidisciplinary teams at Nederlandse Loterij work. I was used to my training schedule being over at the end of the day. Now, hardly anything is finished in one day, and there’s always something else to do the next. That meant that the trick for me, as a fanatic and a perfectionist, was to close the computer at night and say, ‘tomorrow is another day’.

As Sponsorship Manager on the TeamNL account, I maintain frequent contact with NOC*NSF, the sports federations and their athletes.