Rafael Raap

Rafael Raap (born 18 March 1999) is a Dutch athlete competing in the decathlon. He is a member of PAC in Rotterdam and the Dutch national team.
Biography.
At the age of 7 years old, Raap was advized by a teach of his school to start with athletics. During his youth years he won many competitions. When he was twelve years old he atletics club PAC in Rotterdam. At the age of fifteen he jumped 2.05 metres in the long jump that was a national record for his age-category (C-juniors). When he was 16 years old he started living and training at Papendal, the national sports centre in the Netherlands. He was selected to participate at the 2017 European Athletics U20 Championships and he aimed to win a medal. However, he had three invalid throws in the discus throw and did not reach the starting height in the high jump. He realized his medal chances were lost, but changed his mindset positively and set two new personal records in the later events. In a later athletics competition he had kind of a burn out. During the hurdles event he jumped below the hurdle and injured himself. He had torn and strained muscles and had to revalidate for several months. After two years of struggling with his shoulder, he was back on track in 2019. In that year he competed at the 2019 European Athletics U23 Championships in the decathlon event where he finished in sixth place. As he became a senior athlete, he travalled with the national team to Florida the United States. He suffered an unexplained foot injury and returned home earlier. He got good upport from among others Dafne Schippers. After revalidation when he was due to have surgery, the injury was suddenly gone. At the 2020 Dutch Atletics Championships he won the silver medal behind Pieter Braun. He was invited for the prestigious decathlong meeting Hypo-Meeting in Götzis, Austria.
Ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics he was followed by a project of the Dutch national television broadcaster VPRO, who followed talents ahead of the Olympics.
Personal life.
Raap was born in the Netherlands in Arnhem. His mother Tanja met his father Tino Raap (Guinea-Bissau) in Guinea-Bissau when she worked there as a teacher. His father is a known singer in Guinea-Bissau and was a footballer. His mother is a former ballet teacher who had her own ballet school. During the civil war in Guinea-Bissau they moved to the Netherlands. His sister was also born in the Netherlands. They lived in Capelle.
At the age of 11 his parents divorced. His father who was a polular singer in Guinea-Bissau didn't became successfull in the Netherlands. When Raap was 14 years old his father didn't come home from a holliday. That was a difficult time for Raap, who still had contact with him via social media and Skype. Raap got a new stepfather: Mark. He got support from him, like his mother. When Raap moved to Papendal when he was 16 years old he started a marketing and communications studies in Nijmegen.