For a long time she was one of the most influential faces in athletics, but now the Dutch sprint queen Dafne Schippers has hung up her running shoes. At the age of 31, Schippers ended her successful career.
“The race ends here. As an athlete you always know that this day will come, that at some point your career will be a moment in time – a collection of memories and hopefully medals. Today I decided to take my life off track “To do what comes next, but not without thanking you for all the endless support. It’s been a journey with no regrets,” Schippers wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
Dafne Schippers achieved her first big coup in 2012 when she was part of the Dutch relay team at the European Championships, which only had to admit defeat to the German quartet. This was followed by bronze at the 2013 World Championships in the heptathlon, the discipline that Schippers dominated as a U20 athlete.
In 2014, Schippers achieved her big breakthrough on the track when she won European Championship gold in the 100 and 200 meters in Zurich. A performance that earned her the title of European Athlete of the Year in the same year.
Schippers created a novelty in European athletics
The crowning achievement of her career came a year later when Schippers became world champion in the 200 meters in Beijing. A success that she was able to repeat two years later in London as the first European woman ever to do so. In Beijing, the Dutchwoman also set the sixth fastest time ever of 21.63 seconds.
In addition to the successes mentioned, there was gold at the 2015 European Indoor Championships over 60 meters as well as silver over this distance four years later and silver at the 2016 World Indoor Championships. The U20 heptathlon world champion from 2010 also won two more European Championship titles in 2016 and won two silver and one bronze in Berlin in 2018.