Sofie Lenaerts

Who is Sofie Lenaerts?

My passion for adventurous sports began when I was 18, with parachuting, diving and motorbike riding. This later extended to rock climbing, paragliding and mountain climbing all over the world. 
I was the third Belgian woman to climb Mount Everest, but I also did solo climbs to 7000 m, paraglided from Mont Blanc and finished after 10 years as the first woman from the Benelux countries to have climbed the Seven Summits (highest mountain on each continent)

I began my professional career in what was then the Rijkswacht (Gendarmerie) and I was one of the first “zwaantjes” (Flemish nickname given to the motorbike police) of the Federal Police. In addition, I became an expert, lecturer and national chair in the complex matter of the securing of loads until, in early 2019, I took on the full-time job of creating and presenting the Flemish road safety campaign ‘Kijk Uit’ (Look Out).

By being confronted with difficult, sometimes life-threatening situations, both professionally as a police officer and as a sports athlete, you learn to deal with uncertainties and the hard decisions that have to be made.