Dafne Schippers and Eelco Sintnicolaas have been named as the Dutch athletes of the year – and their immediate focus is now on glory in Prague.
Schippers and Sintnicolaas received their awards from the Dutch Athletic Federation with attention turning to this Sunday and the International Combined Events match in Apeldoorn.
The pair will both open their season at this competition with their minds very much on 6-8 March and the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Prague.
Schippers will go to the Czech Republic after her stunning sprint double at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, success which led to her being named as the European Athletics' female athlete of the year.
It has not been confirmed which event she will compete in but on Sunday she is running the 60m with the aim of qualifying with 7.25.
She could be focusing also on the pentathlon, though in previous winters she has run the individual sprint and achieved her personal best of 7.14 when she was fourth at the previous European Athletics Indoor Championships in Gothenburg two years ago.
Shippers received her award from Theo Hoex, President of the Royal Dutch Athletics Federation, and revealed how it is set to be another busy year of differing events.
Schippers and Sintnicolaas with their awards:
Gefeliciteerd @dafneschippers @eelcotienkamp @_nadinevisser @kennyvanweeghel met jullie titels #atletenvhjaar2014 pic.twitter.com/tkyRZTr6Oe
— Amsterdam 2016 (@Amsterdam2016) January 22, 2015
Shippers told nu.nl that it is 'the year of the choice' as she talked of sprinting and competing in the heptathlon in Götzis in May.
While she has never won a major medal indoors, Schippers will be looking to change that in Prague where her Dutch teammate Sintnicolaas will be the defending heptathlon champion.
He broke the national record when he scored 6372 points in Gothenburg, beating France’s Kevin Mayer by just 75, and received his award from the federation after showing his consistency last year as he finished fourth in the heptathlon at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot and then in the decathlon at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich.