Athlete Lieke Klaver shoots like a rocket to the world top: “Where I am now, I’ve always dreamed of”

“They had non-alcoholic champagne and I had some snacks,” begins 24-year-old Klaver about the evening she had often dreamed of as a little girl. With the 4×400 relay team, she was elected Sports Team of the Year. “Everyone always looked so beautiful. We agreed with the girls that we wouldn’t sit there in a black dress. We really did something great together. We especially enjoyed playing with our muscular shoulders, arms and legs to put on a nice dress. We just wanted to show that muscular women are also beautiful. And you should also be able to wear whatever you want.”

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“I always hoped that I might be there one day. Suddenly I was standing there and before I knew it I was back in the car going home. It goes so fast!” successes she experiences. Although that’s not much time for that. “I just had to train at 10 a.m. the next day. So I wanted to be fresh. There are more important things,” she laughs.

Fourth or just no podium?

When Klaver thinks back to 2022 in a few years’ time, one image will still be burned into her retina. “One hundred percent fourth place at the World Cup,” says Klaver resolutely. In the 400 meters she raced in the final in Eugene (United States) in 50.33 seconds to fourth place. In one fell swoop she was one of the best 400-meter runners in the world. “The first three were great toppers and that I was so close to them, that was so good.”

Individually, Klaver even ran a new Dutch record (50.18 seconds) in the semi-finals “I really worked for that for a long time and this was the first time that I breakthrough–moment had for myself. The pride I felt for myself was very special. It finally went the way I wanted it to.”

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The fourth place at the World Cup evoked a feeling of not being there for many people. Immediately after the race, however, Klaver was radiant in front of the camera, because she thought that feeling was unjustified. “I really didn’t feel like people wanting to comfort me and send messages saying ‘what a pity’. I know how clever this is. In the whole world only places one, two and three count. For me, place four was real grandiose.”

What is associated with success is fame. Klaver is increasingly recognized on the street and then she just has a chat. “As long as they have good intentions,” she adds. “I think it’s funny.”

When asked if that affects her, she says very matter-of-factly: “Nah nothing, just nothing at all.” Clover just stays the same. And despite that her counter of Instagram followers now tapping the 702,000, she doesn’t feel much about it. “The moment I had 100,000 followers, I switched to taking it less seriously. It’s just a number. When you’re in a full Johan Cruijff Arena, you only talk to the first three to get your That’s how I see it a bit. I’m pretty sober about it.”

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Run more efficiently

This year, Klaver improved no less than eight tenths of a second in the 400 meters. ‘By running more efficiently’ her personal best went from 50.98 seconds to 50.18. “I got a lot of comments at first. A lot of people said ‘just slow down at the start blah blah blah. No! I thought: I have to run the same speed, but more efficiently. That actually means that I started fighting less in my race. You can relax and running everything tense. Sometimes it goes just as fast and you’re exhausted after one and still okay with the other. But it’s often in the details. Sometimes lifting your knee a little higher can already make a lot of difference. That makes your stride length longer. we also train on it. Recently it was 2 meters 19 and that had to go to 2 meters 23.”

After the FBK Games in June, Klaver already said that she likes this season much ‘more fun’ than last year. At that time, it had nothing to do with the results, but with her mental state. She wasn’t so happy last year and didn’t walk well either. “That went on all year. Sometimes I sat at home with a negative voice in my head. If it’s not nice, you can still be so strong during the race, but you haven’t had a rest at home. That voice is now something more positive and it has all become more fun. Last year I trained way too hard for a period without asking the question: how are you? After last year I started working with a psychologist. I think I needed a little more knowledge about myself .”

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The athlete has now also arranged many things outside her athletics career. A house of her own, her studies in Sports Studies at the HAN in Arnhem are almost completed. “And my brother and I are very close,” says Klaver, who was back in her Enkhuizen for Christmas. “I just really enjoy studying and I can also find peace in that.”

The collaboration with her coach Bram Peters is also going smoothly. But she says she has made the biggest gains on the mental level. “It is very human to do other things than just sports. I am also more than just my sport. We have done a number of sessions with a psychologist with my coach. Partly because of this, I now finally have peace of mind.”

After all the success, Klaver took a break and the focus quickly turned to next season. There is simply no time to enjoy last year’s successes. “My year only lasts three weeks, because it goes so fast. I always say that. When I finished fourth at the World Cup, I really had to reflect on the fact that I had done so well. That is why I have written in my training booklet: I’m right in the middle of what I used to look forward to. I’ve always dreamed of where I am now.”