Nadine Visser’s ‘double feeling’: from acid injury to record breaker

“I have to say that I also just forget a lot of things,” says Visser when asked about a number of crucial moments of the past year. “I actually only think about the outdoor season, while indoor was also part of it. That feels like so long ago.”

Nadine Visser takes us through her year on the basis of a number of defining moments.

“The training internship in January was really great. Beforehand it was exciting to go to South Africa because of corona and there were opinions about it. Stellenbosch, where we stayed, is a nice holiday area and now we had to stay in the hotel with our our own cook. We lived in a bubble.”

“We thought beforehand: oh dear, we won’t get bored. But actually it was a very nice internship and it gave a lot of peace because you didn’t leave and could focus a lot on training. We got things done and laid a good foundation.”

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“Quick time and a souvenir home, namely corona. Even the European Indoor Championships had mixed feelings. The indoor season was very successful and I quickly ran PR times. That I’m in Torun Became European champion with a new Dutch record ran and also world leading, was really beautiful. That gives confidence for the coming years.”

“Indoor is a short piece, so I’m relatively close to the top times. I’m also a good indoor runner, so it’s nice to see what could be possible. The world record is 7.68 seconds and I ran at the European Indoor Championships 7.77. That sounds very close, but still very far. It doesn’t sound completely impossible either. Dreaming is allowed, of course.”

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“When I came back, it only turned out that I had corona. I had also visited my parents at exactly the wrong time, so I gave it to them too. When I was able to train again I noticed something. I had to take longer wait until I could do the endurance workouts.”

“My very first game after the European Indoor Championships was the next decisive moment. I felt in the race in Vught a cramp. It felt like little. So people said: it’s not that bad. I’ve had it once before and then it was wrong too. I immediately thought: shit! This is going to take some time and I was hoping I would have enough time for the Games.”

“We saw Vught as a kind of training competition. We could have done the same in training, but then you don’t approach it as a competition. Yet a real race is a completely different burden on your body. I want a training competition like Vught.” no more walking. We trained too hard that week and I think I should have been better rested.”

“I was in shape, maybe not even in the shape I could have been in. I was in the final of the 100m hurdles and I was competing for the medals. In Rio 2016 I was still a long way from that. I “I knew I was injured, but I was confident I could do it. I gave it my best shot. It felt like the biggest game of my career so far.”

“I was fifth and right after the race I was really upset because I felt there was more to it. If you look at my preparation, that was almost an impossible task. Some would have thought it clever that I was fit at all. But once I got there I felt that I was in shape and that something beautiful was possible in the final.”

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“After the Olympic final I was super emotional. I cried a lot. I’ve never had that before. That was pent up emotion that I had in my rehabilitation. Then it feels unfair somewhere and you think: what if I perfect preparation.”

“In Paris (12.58 seconds) I ran very fast and I won a Diamond League in Brussels (12.69). 12.51 seconds, two weeks later in Zurich, was by far the fastest I had ever run. A lot of people are still doing a postseason, but are actually already done with it. I didn’t and I felt there was more in it. It was nice that after the Games I still had a goal to work towards. I ran a nice Dutch record and only one lady was faster. Still very nice, because that was the best race of the year.”

“Improving a Dutch record now feels like improving a PR. That’s just it for me now. But it is always very nice to run faster than ever and a Dutch record then sounds extra special.”

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“I surprised myself in Bellinzona. That was the very last race. There I noticed that almost everyone was happy that the season was over. It was different for me and I still had a really good time there. Just above the Dutch record. My boyfriend was there too and we went on vacation there.”

“After that game I had a nice sense of satisfaction that I had finished the season well. I think I could have kept this level for a while, but I don’t know whether I could have surpassed 12.51. It’s a long season for me, because I’ve been in a lot of acidification.”

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“After the holiday I had after Bellinzona, I noticed that I started better than ever, because I finished at a high level. Since October 18 I have been back in training after four weeks of holiday. I started fitter so that was a nice bonus “I had less problems with injuries and pains. In the first weeks my lower legs and hamstring always have to get used to it, but now it went smoothly. I didn’t have to adjust much, so that’s very positive.”