Ruben Houkes

The career of judoka Ruben Houkes (Schagen, 8 June 1979) is hallmarked by hard work and dedication. Houkes is a lightweight, which means he fights in the category below 60 kg.
 
Starting in 2005, Ruben Houkes has made his way to the top of the sport. He had previously won medals at World Cups and Super World Cups, including a medal in Paris, but in 2005 and 2006 the tide really turned, and Ruben took two consecutive bronze medals at the European Championships.

At the World Championships 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Ruben Houkes became world champion, the fifth Dutch judo world champion ever, following in the footsteps of Anton Geesink, Wim Ruska, Guillaume Elmont and Dennis van der Geest. He was however the first lightweight (under 60 kg) from the Netherlands to achieve this status.

In Olympic year 2008, he also came second in the European Championships and qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

At the Games, Ruben Houkes won the bronze medal. The first Dutch medal at the 2008 Olympic Games.

For 2009, the hard-working judoka has set his sights on the European Championships in Tblissi, and the World Championships in Rotterdam. In Rotterdam, Ruben will be defending his world title on the opening day.

Houkes has been taking Plantina products for years. “I always have to slim down to maintain my category weight. The combination of weight loss and hard training means I need to keep my body in good condition. And that is possible thanks to the Plantina products".