They push each other to a higher level. Hurdlers Koen Smet and Liam van der Schaaf train together every day and are good friends off the track. At the NK indoor it was already clear in advance that the two would compete for the gold. “Now I finally have to go for it again at an NK”, says Smet.
Hurdlers Koen Smet and Liam van der Schaaf are arch enemies for one day – NH Sport / Stephan Brandhorst
The career of 29-year-old Smet is characterized by standing head and shoulders above the rest at national level. Yesterday the Amsterdammer already took his thirteenth title (indoor and outdoor) on hurdling. But it is no longer as automatic as before, in recent years.
Thanks to Liam van der Schaaf, who is now Smet’s big challenger. “The finals are now exciting again”, said the 23-year-old athlete from Phanos. Van der Schaaf finished second at the Dutch National Championships, only 0.09 seconds away. “In the past, Koen was always one and the rest followed at a great distance. Now hurdling is a lot more fun for the public.”
“The finals are now exciting again”
In 2020, Van der Schaaf managed to deal with Smet for the first time. Since then, the two have been very close to each other. During the first games of this season, the hurdlers immediately reached the limit for the World Indoor Championships. And yet they are almost polar opposites. “We can challenge each other on our weaknesses and that is only beautiful,” said Smet.
View below a short overview of the Noord-Hollanders at the Dutch National Championships indoor.
Highlights National Championships Athletics – NH Sport / Stephan Brandhorst
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