As an athlete she sees beautiful places in the world. Anne van de Wiel (28) from Breda has been at a training camp in South Africa in recent days and will participate in the World Athletics Relays in Botswana next weekend. Not in her favorite 400, but in the 100 meters. For top sport she has to go deep, very deep. “Sometimes I throw up on the athletics track twice a week.”
Anne van de Wiel participated in all-around events for many years and only three years ago she fully focused on the 400 meters and 400 meters hurdles. Before that, she combined both sports and was a reserve member of the 4×400 meter relay team at both the Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
It was therefore surprising that she was selected last year for the 4×100 meter distance for the World Athletics Relay, where countries can qualify for the World Cup. This year she is again in the selection for the short sprint distance. “A surprise, since I focused on the 400 meters throughout the indoor season. I assumed that if I was selected, it would be for that distance.”
She doesn’t consider herself a real 100 meter runner. “I don’t have a great start, but that’s also because I train for that less often. It’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg story. In the relay, switching is very important. That’s why I understand that athletes with experience in relay teams are being looked at.”
More Brabanders
At the World Athletics Relay, Van de Wiel is in the selection for the 4×100 meters with Demi van den Wildenberg from Helmond. Nina Franke from Heesch and Eveline Saalberg from Vessem are part of the selection for the 4×400 meters.
Van de Wiel does not yet know whether she will focus more on the 100 meters in the future. De Breda mainly sees opportunities in the 400 and 400 meter hurdles. “Although it is good to occasionally run the 100 and 200 meters as a change. I feel like I can still make progress in the 400 meters. An advantage is that I am almost never injured, just sometimes a few aches and pains. Thanks to my all-around background, I am very resilient and versatile.”
“I sometimes think what it’s like to live a normal life.”
She has a part-time job, but otherwise her life revolves around athletics. “Running takes me to great places and to major tournaments, but of course it is not always fun. Then I train in the rain or in temperatures below zero, sometimes so hot that I have to puke. I sometimes think about what it is like to lead a normal life. But I am loyal to what I do and I think athletics is great.”
A source of support and support is her twin sister Myke, who is the best in the Netherlands as a heptathlete. “We look a lot alike, although we are fraternal. Our characters are also basically similar. But that is not surprising when you have lived together for so long. After years in Rotterdam, we now do that again in Breda. Do we always talk about athletics? Often for a while, but we have many other conversations.”
