Saturday, 24/August, Belfius EuroHockey Championships, Antwerp 2019
During the men’s final at the Belfius EuroHockey Championships in Antwerp, the European Hockey Federation presented on the pitch the two latest inductees to its prestigious Hall of Fame. Julia Müller and Jérôme Truyens were joined on the pitch by EHF President Marijke Fleuren and previous Hall of Fame inductees Teun de Nooijer, Pol Amat and Santi Freixa.
Julia Müller (Germany)
The decorated hero of German hockey- at both indoor and outdoor- counts among her most memorable hockey moments her gold medal at the EuroHockey Championships 2007 in Manchester, aged just 21 years old and playing in her first senior tournament. She would then go on to lift the EuroHockey Championship trophy in Belgium in 2013 as captain of her team.
Müller is a three-time Olympian, winning bronze in Rio -her third and last Olympics and the dream way to end her international career.
Her achievements in indoor hockey are notable, being named best player at the Indoor World Cup Vienna in 2007, where her team finished 3rd. In the EuroHockey Indoor Championships in Prague in 2014, Germany took silver and Müller was named best player.
On her Hall of Fame experience: “It’s an honour, to be honest, I didn’t expect it and there were some great players on the list! It was just overwhelming”
Jérôme Truyens (Belgium)
Truyens becomes the first Belgian to be inducted into the EHF Hall of Fame.
An Olympic and EuroHockey Championship silver medallist, Truyens scored the decisive goal at the 2007 EuroHockey Championships in Manchester that qualified Belgium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, starting the incredible Belgian hockey journey.
On being inducted: “It’s quite an honour when you see all the players currently in the Hall of Fame. I was really looking up to those guys when I was a kid, because Belgium wasn’t at the place where we are today; fifth when I started (and that’s a long time ago!). It’s been a while, I’ve worked hard, and I’m really honoured to be here”.
At 32, Truyens still plays with the club he joined at the age of 5, Royal Racing Club of Brussels. He’s chasing with them one last milestone- the Belgian Championship title.
About the EHF Hall of Fame
Since its foundation 50 years ago, the EHF has always valued its players with individual awards at all of its tournaments. However in recent years, as players, coaches and umpires have performed better, given more, and developed themselves and the sport, EHF in 2013 felt it was time to honour those very special people whose on- and off- field achievements and actions have helped develop hockey into the sport that it is today.
The official launch of the EHF Hall of Fame took place during the TriFinance EuroHockey Championships in Boom, Belgium in August 2013. Teun de Nooijer (NED), Santi Freixa (ESP) & Natascha Keller (GER) were inducted. In 2015, two new members were added at the Unibet EuroHockey Championships in London, when Pol Amat (ESP) and Nikki Symmons (IRL) joined the elite group of EHF Hall of Famers. Three more joined the ranks in 2017 at the Rabo EuroHockey Championships in Amsterdam- Kate Richardson-Walsh (ENG), Maartje Paumen (NED) and Moritz Fürste (GER).
Cover photograph: FRANK UIJLENBROEK/WORLD SPORT PICS