Lieke Klaver has reached the finals in the 400 meters at the World Indoor Athletics Championships. The 25-year-old athlete won the first heat in the semi-finals in a time of 51.18 seconds. Earlier today, Jessica Schilder from Volendam did not get further than fifth place in the shot put section with a distance of 19.37 meters.
Klaver easily qualified for the semi-finals earlier in the day. The athlete from Enkhuizen made a false start in the semi-finals, but that did not mean a disqualification in this case. On the second attempt she had a good start in lane 5. After the first lap she was in the lead and she kept it in the second lap. The American Talitha Diggs crossed the line second in 51.28.
A year ago, Klaver won silver in the 400 meters at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul. It was her first individual medal at a major tournament after the series of medals she already won with the Dutch relay team in the 4×400 meters. Last year she won the world title at the World Championships in Budapest together with Femke Bol, Eveline Saalberg and Cathelijn Peeters.
The final is on Saturday evening at 10:00 PM Dutch time.
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Schilder appeared somewhat tense and restless and recorded five invalid attempts. The only punch that counted was her third, and it was below her normal level.
A big setback for Schilder, as she reached 20.31 meters at the National Indoor Athletics Championships two weeks ago. With that distance she topped the global indoor rankings this winter. The European champion in 2022 was therefore also a favorite in the section. She won bronze at the previous World Championships.
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Ryan Clarke’s debut ended with a deception. De Castricummer ran the fourth fastest time in his series on the 800 meters and that was not enough to go to the semi-finals.