And then you became the preferred supplier in Europe for WPV, and also for PVE. And now here you are at the Paralympics. So how did that develop?

When you go to my website, www.sporteq.eu, there is a short story “From Rwanda to Paris”. When I met this Rwandans team, and I met Jouke and Peter, and then I met Barry Couzner, he told me there was no company in Europe with a certified installation. And I made the story happen! I had this dream 10 years ago, from London to Paris. So it came true.

Would you explain a little bit the different types of post and net systems, because the one put in place for Paris is custom made for the field of play right?

Yes, exactly. Initially, there was the question just for freestanding installations, and we have them. But the tricky part was if I could put the counterweight further away from the posts. Normally, I had it two metres away but the organising committee in Paris asked to put a counterweight at three metres. I had to redesign my standard equipment. And then, there was the matter with the field of play - the organising committee didn't want these counterweights on the field, because for the overall image and promotion, it's not that nice looking. I suggested to drill some holes in the floor and put a post in the floor, but the owner of the building didn't allow that, so we had to think of something else. Then, there was the situation that they had to level out this concrete floor because it was uneven with a wooden floor on top. So I came up with an idea to make a frame from almost 11 metres on the floor, screwed it on the floor and on the posts, and I believe this was a great invention. And great in general, because organisations now can see how and what to do depending on their situation at a venue - there are new and different ways of setting up posts.

So, it was pretty tense before the beginning, because you have this frame on the concrete floor. There's a wooden floor atop it, and on top of that, the sports floor, if something went wrong, you can't do anything. So we had our fingers crossed.

How have the Games been for you? Since you have been on site every day, every hour of the day, from the beginning to the end of the competition to ensure everything worked well. What do you take away from this competition?

I probably will know that in a few weeks, because now I am feeling like I am in a big bubble. I haven’t had the time to think about what the impact of this event is or will be, but I already know now that it has been amazing. An amazing event for me, a first time, and everything went very well.

Photo one - Igo Krabbenborg pictured third from right to left
Photo two - Igo Krabbenborg creative process (photo source: Sporteq.eu)
Photo three - FOP posts with no counterweight at #Paris2024