The Dutch Athletics Championships are approaching this weekend and an interesting battle is expected on the hurdles. Nadine Visser, Zoë Sedney and Maayke Tjin A-Lim are having a good season and there is little difference between them. “At the Dutch National Championships I would like to peak and be first. That is my mindset,” says Tjin A-Lim.
The trio’s season best times are just two tenths apart. Visser recorded a 12.72 seconds in Finland last week, Sedney ran 12.91 in Oordegem and Tjin A-Lim was also allowed to smell 12.91. “I now know that I can walk,” says Tjin A-Lim about her performance on the Ter Specke Cup† However, the time was not an official personal record, because there was too much tailwind in Lisse.
Consistent
The 24-year-old athlete of AV Zaanland describes the preparation for the NK athletics as ‘consistent’. At the end of May, Tjin A-Lim set a new personal best in Manchester (13.02). During sweltering matches in Marseille and Madrid, she ran 13.08 and 13.10 respectively last week. “I was able to continue the line from the indoor season to the outdoor season. I am very satisfied, because I have remained fit and pain-free. And I will save the best for the Dutch Championships.”
Text continues below the video.
At the NK in Apeldoorn it is the last chance for Tjin A-Lim to run the limit for the World Cup in Eugene (United States). That means she has to dive under the time of 12.84. “I have to start very hard to bridge that gap,” says the hurdler who finished third at the Dutch National Championships last year and fourth in 2019. Before the European Championships in Munich, Tjin A-Lim still has a month to break the limit of 12.93. “I’m ready and very excited. I hope we have a little tailwind at the Dutch Championships.”
Corona
In the sports world, the coronavirus is also coming into play again. Visser had to take the Missing Diamond League match in Paris due to contamination† “You have to be alert for every virus. I have been living in a bubble the past few days to limit my contacts as much as possible. And I also do it so that I can keep my focus.”
This weekend the Dutch Athletics Championships are at AV ’34 in Apeldoorn. On Sunday, Tjin A-Lim comes into action. First the series wait and at 3.12 pm the final is on the program.