Cette fois-ci, Thomas Briels a bien confirmé officiellement via Facebook son retrait de l’équipe nationale après 15 années et 359 sélections avec les Red Lions.
Tomacho avait débuté sa carrière sous le maillot national mi-2006 et participait à ses premiers JO à Pékin en 2008. Il en alignait ainsi 4 et récoltait les 3 titres de champion. Il jouait dès sa plus tendre enfance au Dragons et connut une superbe carrière aux Pays-Bas.
Merci à
Dans son message FB, il remercie Felix Denayer qui fut son compagnon de chambrée, Vincent Vanasch qui l’a inspiré, Shane McLeod la légende et sa maman Brigitte Lootens …
Son message : Letting go is never easy but a part of life. After 15 years and 356 games I decided to retire from the @belredlions as an Olympic Champion 😍 to my teammates, my best friends and my brothers; I had a sad feeling sitting in the dressing room with you guys for the last time on Monday. I thought about all the laughs, conversations, tears, sweat, blood, the ups and downs we went through together. You were there for me and I did my best to be there for you, always. I am incredibly proud of you one by one. I will miss the hard work we put in together, the moments just before the games and when the pressure was on the moments we could count on each other. More importantly we made history and memories together and I made friends for life. You will be in my heart forever. To my family and loved ones; you know who you are.. just thank you from the bottom of my heart for the immense support during a long and intense period with a lot of sacrifice, I will never forget. To our staff and all the people behind the scenes; thank you for bringing out the best out of each and every one of us, thank you for the vision and the continuous support. To our fans; you made it worth it, supporting us along the way, it was a privilege to inspire you. I am sure you will support the team for a long time coming and I will be one of you in the future.
@felixdenayer thank you for putting up with me in the room for more than 13 years. I am so proud of you, honoured that I was your best man and very happy we will be friends for life. You are Gold.
@vincvanasch21 You have inspired me. Thank you for the medals boss.
@shanemcleod6887 We did it. Thank you for changing our lives and making us better people. You are a legend.
@lootensbrigitte This will be probably even more difficult for you than for me. Thank you for everything, raising and supporting me, I love you.
