Lieke Klaver

Klaver had shown potential in shorter sprints, reaching the 200m final at both the 2015 and 2017 European Athletics U20 Championships. However, the 22-year-old has since risen in distance and flourished in both the 200m and 400m, finishing the year 2020 as Europe’s fastest at both distances. She started aggressively at the 2020 Rome Diamond League, her fourth race in nine days.

She ran the first 100 meters in 12.2, overtaking European champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic by 50 meters. Furthermore, this was the last competition of the summer season. She ran the 200m in 23.9 seconds after losing to the Polish athlete earlier in the season. She persisted and completed 300 meters in 36.8, which was again on track. She maintained a long stride and pumped her arms throughout the race, showing no signs of exhaustion. In the final straight, she widened her lead over the competition by running the final 50 meters quicker than anyone else.

In 2019, Klaver was a key member of the Dutch 4×400-meter relay squad and was also starting to go faster on his own. She finished the season with personal bests of 23.35 for the 200-meter and 53.18 for the 400-meter. Under the direction of Laurent Meuwly, Klaver was a member of an elite training squad headquartered at the Dutch National Training Center in Papendal. She did not just train there but also studied and lived there. Femke Bol, the 400-meter hurdles world champion was also a part of the group. Over the years, the friendship between Bol and Klaver has developed from being just training partners.

Lieke Klaver’s coach is Rogier Ummels. He is the sprint, hurdles, relays, and head coach of the Royal Dutch Athletics Federation, the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Netherlands.

Lieke Klaver was born on August 20, 1998, in Velsen, the Netherlands. Klaver is a motivated individual, aware of her skill but not hesitant to put in the effort to get it. She enjoys going to the gym. Her personal bests of 100 kg for the clean and 70 kg for the snatch show her excellent strength and conditioning. Not much information is available regarding her family. However, Ties Klaver is the name of her brother.