Flier makes switch to Beach

Lausanne, Switzerland, November 24, 2016 - In the last couple of years Manon Flier has got married, won a silver medal at the European Championship and had a baby. Now, the 32-year-old opposite who has an astonishing 430 caps with the Dutch national team, is making another life-changing move, switching from indoors to the beach.


Manon Flier received the MVP award at the 2007 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix, when the Netherlands won gold.

Flier, who married Dutch indoor and beach volleyball legend Reinder Nummerdor in 2014 and now goes as Nummerdor-Flier, will be teaming up with two-time Olympian Marleen van Iersel.



"The original goal was to get back [after giving birth] to playing at a club abroad," Nummerdor-Flier said. "Recently I was approached by Marleen, who asked if I would like to team up with her for a beach volleyball team. I have carefully considered the offer and the answer is a resounding yes. I consider it a luxury which I find myself in with such a strong programme, and that I can play with someone as experienced as Marlene."

Van Iersel, 28, split up with Madelein Meppelink after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, when the two players decided to pursue their options with other partners.

"I've known Manon a long time and every time I saw her I joked that someday we were going to play together," said van Iersel. "When I was thinking about my future after the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, I decided to approach her."



But van Iersel is not predicting how long it might take for Nummerdor-Flier to retrain as a beach volleyball star. "That Manon is a good volleyball player is beyond dispute," said van Iersel. "We will now work hard to play together as soon as possible at the highest level."

Nummerdor-Flier follows in the footsteps of her 40-year-old husband, who played for the Dutch national team at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games, before switching to beach volleyball and competing at three more Olympics in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. He was a European champion both indoors (in 1997) and on the beach (in 2008, 2009, 2010), before claiming a silver medal at the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship in The Hague.

Quick links - Beach Volleyball:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2016
Rio 2016 Olympic Games - Beach Volleyball
FIVB.com - Beach Volleyball
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