Two-time champion Nadine Visser kicked off her preparations for the European Athletics Indoor Championships with an impressive championship record victory in the women’s 60m hurdles at the Dutch Indoor Championships on Sunday (23).
A winner in Glasgow 2019, Torun 2021, and silver medallist in Istanbul 2023, the 30-year-old showed she’s in excellent form for another shot at a medal in the same Omnisport Apeldoorn arena that will host the championships from 6-9 March.
Visser lowered her own three-year-old championship record by 0.06 seconds in the heats, clocking 7.84, before winning the final in 7.90, securing her eighth national indoor 60m hurdles title.
Klaver leads home quality 400m final
Despite the absence of world record holder Femke Bol, the women’s 400m final was still a thrilling contest. World indoor and European indoor silver medallist Lieke Klaver raced to the title in 51.11, with Cathelijn Peeters and Myrte van der Schoot following closely behind, setting personal bests of 51.56 and 52.02, respectively.
With Bol focused on the relays in Apeldoorn, there’s a strong possibility of the quartet—who won the women’s 4x400m gold at Roma 2024—reuniting as favorites to claim the indoor title next month.
In the men’s 400m, Isaya Klein Ikkink, who teamed up with Bol and Klaver in the Netherlands’ victorious Olympic mixed relay team in Paris, won the event in 46.23.
The men’s 1500m saw another tight battle, with European U23 champion Stefan Nillessen winning in a championship-record 3:37.08. He was closely pursued by 2019 European U20 silver medallist Robin van Riel, just 0.29 seconds behind, and Noah Baltus, who finished in 3:37.78, in a high-quality domestic race.
Schilder goes beyond 20 metres again
On Saturday (22), the standout performance came from two-time European outdoor champion Jessica Schilder, who dominated the women’s shot put.
Following a modest opening throw of 17.80m, Schilder bounced back with a series of impressive throws. She landed 18.89m in the third round, followed by 19.87m in the fourth, then fired off 20.10m and 20.19m in the final two rounds.
After underperforming in the last two European Athletics Indoor Championships, finishing fifth in both Torun 2021 and Istanbul 2023, Schilder will be eager to give her best performance on home soil in the Omnisport Apeldoorn - where she has set three of her seven national records - in two weeks' time.
In the 60m sprints, Elvis Afrifa set a championship record in the men’s race with a blistering 6.61, while Minke Bisschops continued her impressive progress, winning the women’s race with a personal best of 7.20.
Maureen Koster claimed the women’s 3000m title in a championship-record 8:50.74, and experienced international Menno Vloon won the men’s pole vault with a clearance of 5.83m.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics
Photos courtesy of Royal Dutch Athletics Federation