The Lin Combination Shines in Melun: 1st and 2nd Place Against 23.807 Pigeons in Their Division 5.
22 May 2026
Father and son Yong and Jiabin Lin live in Rijnsaterwoude, South Holland. As complete newcomers to pigeon racing, they started keeping racing pigeons in 2005 at their first home in Ter Aar. Since 2013, they have been enjoying pigeon racing together from their beautifully situated farm in Rijnsaterwoude.
In the race from Melun-Andrezel on May 16, 2026, the Lin Combination once again made an impression. Against a field of no fewer than 23,807 pigeons, the combination from Rijnsaterwoude secured first and second place in Division 5. The race took place under cool conditions with partly cloudy skies, occasional showers, and a light southwesterly wind. The pigeons were released at 8:15 a.m., and Combinatie Lin’s fastest pigeon was clocked at 12:25:27 p.m., covering a distance of 419 kilometers. With a top speed of over 1,676 meters per minute, the victory was a convincing one. Not only the first prize, but also second place went to this successful combination. The first prize was won by NL24-8436591: her sire, “Jackie Chan” NL19-1695672, is the full brother of “Olympic Janneke” NL17-1310250. This powerful blue hen was 1st International Olympiad Pigeon for yearlings in Poznan and 1st National Ace Pigeon WHZB 2020. The “591,” her dam, is in turn the full sister of the world-famous “Uranus” owned by Willem de Bruijn.
Second place was taken by NL24-8436571: Her sire is the full brother of “De Ligt,” who in turn is the sire of “Olympic China 001.” The dam is a cross between ‘Cartier’ from Pieter Veenstra and “Olympic Janneke” Comb. Lin. In other words, the dam is a half-sister of “Olympic China 001.”
We could already see that the form was good on April 25 from Quievrain (210 km). In the Midden Holland Noord competition, the first ten places were taken by the Combination out of 3,162 pigeons. In addition, there were more nice placements in the hundreds with 20-21-24-25-28. With 94 prizes out of 100 pigeons entered, one could, to use school terminology, say she “passed with highest honors and the congratulations of the examination committee.” The victory here was claimed by NL24-8436564 This hen is a daughter from the pairing “Olympic China 001” (Comb. Lin) X Young Princess BE22-6208888 (Rik Hermans) “Young Princess is a half-sister to “Favorietje,” 4th Ace Pigeon Allround WBP ’19, and to “Chucky,” 4th Nat. Ace Pigeon MD Young KBDB ’18. The lines “Harry” (J. Hooymans), “Olympic Niels” (Dirk van Dyck), and “Propere” + “Athena” (Rik Hermans) are also present in “Young Princess.”
A phenomenal stock structure
The golden line at Comb. Lin begins with “Olympic Error 404.” This top hen (NL14-1094404) won the title of 6th National Ace Hen WHZB/TBOTB in both 2015 and 2016 and, thanks to her exceptional performances, was named All-Round Olympiad Pigeon in 2017. Her sire is (NL10-1083006) “Zoon Rolex,” a son of “Rolex” and “Sissy” from Pieter Veenstra. “Rolex” himself won the title of 1st National Ace Pigeon in 2009. The dam of the 404 is the (NL11-1737012), a direct Verkerk pigeon, from the lines of “Sven” and “Magic Amore.” It is noteworthy that “Sven” is a son of “Olympic Survivor.” Together with “Magic Amore,” this cock forms the parent pair of “Olympic Solange.” “Olympic Error” is paired with “Golden Dragon” (NL09-1214695), the dam of “Olympic Janneke” (NL17-1310250). This powerful blue hen won 1st International Olympiad Pigeon for yearlings in Poznań. Her performances as a yearling are nothing short of impressive: she finished in the top ten in the district nine times against thousands of pigeons, including three 1st prizes at Quievrain against 3,277 pigeons, a 1st prize at Arras against 2,346 pigeons, and a 1st prize at Pont St. Maxence against 1,190 pigeons. And the best part is that this “Olympic Janneke” has once again proven her exceptional breeding value as the dam of the cock “Olympic China 001” (NL19-1696001). This phenomenal yearling was crowned Best Pigeon of the Netherlands WHZB sprint/middle distance and Best All-Round Pigeon of the Netherlands in 2020. An unprecedented achievement for a yearling. He, too, won only top prizes, with the absolute highlight being a 1st against 9,157 pigeons from Pontoise. His mother’s qualities are undeniable, but on his father’s side, too, everything speaks of pure class. His sire, NL18-5171197, won the title of 2nd Ace Young Bird Middle Distance WHZB in 2018. He carries the blood of Verkerk’s “Inbred Tiger,” an inbred on Willem de Bruijn’s “Little Tiger,” paired with the “13-507”: a direct Koopman cock from “Nabor” x “Fenway.” This Koopman cock is also heavily inbred to absolute top sires such as “Magic Man” (3rd National Le Mans 2005), “’t Kerkduifje,” and “Muggie” from Kees Bosua.
Two icons that have been making a difference for years and really need no introduction form the backbone of the team: “Olympic Janneke” and “Olympic China 001”.
“Olympic Janneke” was named the 1st Dutch Olympiad Pigeon among yearlings in Poznan in 2019 and even the world’s best Olympiad Pigeon among yearlings that same year. Her list of achievements is impressive:
- 1st Quievrain 3,277 p.
- 1st Arras 2,346 p.
- 1st Pont St. Max 1,190 p.
- 2nd Peronne 1,040 p.
- 3rd Duffel 3,905 p.
- 3rd Peronne 2,798 p.
- 3rd Melun 760 p.
- 5th Fontenay 3,964 p.
- 9th Fontenay 1,940 p.
“Olympic China 001” (NL19-1696001) effortlessly continued the family tradition. He was named Olympiad Pigeon for yearlings (Team A) at the 2022 Olympics in Romania and achieved the following results, among others:
- 1st National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance NPO 2020
- 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Old WHZB-TBOTB 2020
- 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Sprint/Middle Distance WHZB-TBOTB 2020
- 1st Pontoise 9,157 p.
- 1st Pontoise 2,001 p.
- 3rd Chateauroux 1,633 p.
- 9th Peronne 2,218 p.
Of course, breeding from top pigeons never offers absolute guarantees of new champions. Nevertheless, the chances of success are significantly higher when proven quality pigeons appear as close as possible in the pedigree. According to Jiabin, it is essential that multiple top pigeons are represented on both the sire and dam sides. That is, in fact, the core of the strategy here.
In 2025, Yong and Jiabin undoubtedly experienced the strongest season of their careers, crowned with no fewer than three Olympiad pigeons and three national ace pigeons.
NL24-8436666 “Olympic Liu Liu Liu”
- 1st National Ace Pigeon One-Day Long Distance NPO 2025
- 2nd Olympiad Pigeon Category: Long Distance 1-Year-Olds 2026
Top performances:
- 2nd National Sector Issoudun 5,737 pigeons
- 2nd Le Mans 2,158 pigeons
- 6th Chateauroux 1,741 pigeons
- 9th Pontoise 5,737 pigeons
NL24-8436694 “Miss Jenny”
- 1st National Ace Pigeon All-round NPO 2025
- 4th National Ace Pigeon One-Day Long Distance NPO 2025
Top performances:
- 2nd Issoudun 1,455 p.
- 3rd Pontoise 6,854 p.
- 5th Pt. St. Maxence 2,650 p.
- 6th Le Mans 2,158 p.
NL25-1315612 “612”
- 1st National Ace Pigeon Young Birds NPO 2025
- 1st National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance FCI World Best
- 1st National Ace Pigeon Young Birds PIPA Rankings
- 1st National Ace Pigeon Young Birds Middle Distance PIPA Rankings
Top performances:
- 1st Pontoise 3,781 pigeons
- 1st Toury 2,984 pigeons
- 4th Pt. St. Maxence 4,362 pigeons
NL24-8436709 “Olympic Haaland”
- 1st National Ace Pigeon All-round FCI 2025
- 1st WBP All-round 2025
- 2nd Olympic Yearling 2026
- 2nd Nat. Ace Pigeon Yearling 2025
Top performances:
- 1st Quievrain 852 p.
- 3rd Pontoise 17,159 p.
- 4th Bierges 1,864 p.
- 9th Pont St. Max. 8,000 p.
- 13th Pontoise 6,854 p.
The list of national and Olympiad ace pigeons from 2025 is certainly impressive.
• 1st & 4th National Ace Pigeon One-Day Long Distance NPO
• 1st, 7th, 8th, 11th & 20th National Ace Pigeon Young Birds NPO
• 1st & 12th National Ace Pigeon All-Round NPO
• 1st, 8th, 10th & 11th National Ace Pigeon Middle Distance FCI World Best
• 1st & 18th National Ace Pigeon All-Round FCI World Best
• 1st, 6th, 14th, 15th & 20th National Ace Young Pigeon Middle Distance PIPA Rankings
• 1st, 4th, 7th & 12th National Ace Pigeon Youngsters PIPA Rankings
• 2nd Olympiad Pigeon Cat. Long Distance 1-Year-Olds
• 2nd, 6th, 7th, 12th, 16th & 17th National Ace Pigeon Youngsters “Allerbeste”
• 2nd, 5th, 6th & 7th National Ace Pigeon Yearlings “Allerbeste”
• 2nd, 9th, 12th & 17th National Ace Pigeon Yearlings PIPA Rankings
• 2nd National Ace Pigeon One-Day Long Distance FCI World Best
• 2nd & 16th National Ace Pigeon Yearlings FCI World Best Pigeon
• 3rd Olympiad Pigeon Cat. Young Birds 2026
• 3rd National Ace Pigeon Young Birds FCI World Best
• 3rd & 10th National Ace Pigeon All-Round “Allerbeste”
Diet and System
Father Yong and son Jiabin carefully tailor the diet to the season, training workload, and upcoming races. During the week, the pigeons are fed a light, easily digestible mix to help them recover quickly from their exertions. As race day approaches, more energy is gradually added through richer racing mixes and extra high-fat seeds. Here, they use Matador feed. Natural byproducts also play an important role in the Lin combination’s loft. Minerals, grit, and supplements are provided regularly to maintain optimal resistance and condition. In addition, Yong and Jiabin observe their pigeons very closely every day. Not only the schedule, but especially the behavior and condition of the pigeons ultimately determine how they are fed. They consider natural support to be important, which is why they are very satisfied with Dr. Brockamp’s products. For example, they use Probac, Phyto, and oregano oil weekly. They certainly do not shy away from using medication. Every three weeks, they treat the pigeons preventively against yellowing and respiratory issues, using products from De Weerd and Van der Sluis. The pigeons receive extra treatment, especially in preparation for an important one-day long-distance race. In addition to providing good care, they also devote a great deal of attention to training. Every day, the pigeons must undergo intensive training sessions lasting between 15 and 90 minutes, usually in the morning. Before the season, they occasionally do some short-distance training, but this stops once the season begins, as the pigeons are raced weekly starting with the first flight. Since the focus is on one-day long-distance races, the old birds are also kept in darkness. The front of the loft consists almost entirely of glass. About one-sixth is open and fitted with windbreak mesh for ventilation, while the rest of the loft is completely enclosed. As a result, the loft has, as it were, a box-like structure. It can get quite warm in the summer, but the pigeons clearly feel comfortable there. With a stock built from pure top quality, a sophisticated system, and above all an unparalleled passion for the sport, Yong and Jiabin Lin prove week after week that their successes are anything but a coincidence. What once began as a hobby for two newcomers has grown into a loft that commands respect both nationally and internationally.
Comb. Lin, congratulations from the entire Herbots team!
Christophe Mathues
