Holland’s wild rise to European athletics power is astonishing – Laurent Meuwly, who coaches Viivi Lehikoi, explains the reasons and criticizes the Finnish model

After a 20-year break, the European Athletics Championships will be held in Munich from 15 to 21. August. shows the race events live.

A sprinter Dafne Schippers. Endurance runner Sifan Hassan. Multiathlete Anouk Vetter. A fencer Femke Bol. In the last ten years, several global star athletes have emerged from Holland.

At the Tokyo Olympics, the Netherlands was nicely sixth in the medal table with two golds and eight medals. It was the third most successful country in Europe after Italy and Poland.

Someone may now question what was so wonderful about the previous examples. Hard success in athletics is always commonplace for Holland. But it just hasn’t been.

The Netherlands is not a big European athletics giant like Great Britain, Germany or, for example, Poland. When the European Championships were held in Munich for the last time exactly 20 years ago, it received only one medal and placed 22nd in the table.

For example, Finland was a better Athletics country at that time. Already in the 1990s, the country’s European Championship success was in decline.

However, during the last ten years, Holland has developed rapidly. It has won at least six medals in each of the four previous European Championships. Four years ago, the haul of eight medals from the European Championships in Berlin was the biggest pot since the 1950 Games.

In addition to the sharp edge, Holland currently has a lot of width, which means that the country will fight for several championships and medals at the European Championships starting on Monday. In the 2000 European Championship medal tables, the Netherlands, which ranked fifth at best, is not necessarily the best European athletics country in Munich yet, but it is not very far from it.

But what is the basis of this rise of the Netherlands to one of the top countries in Europe?

The story continues after the pictures and video.

See Femke Bol’s style sample from the World Cup.

Urheilu caught up with the Swiss national team coach in Holland Laurent Meuwlyn. This is one of the most famous European athletics coaches of the moment, who has been working in his current position since 2018. He was given responsibility for the project “Close the Gap”, where the focus is on 400 meters and 400 meters hurdles.

His current personal coaches include Olympic and World Championship medalist Femke Bol, as well as 400-meter hurdles runner at the World Championships Viivi Lehikoinen.

At the center of Holland’s success is the large Olympic training center in Papendal. Meuwly says that 90 percent of the country’s best athletes are concentrated there.

Meuwly, who has acquired coaching knowledge from many countries, considers the Dutch system to be unique by European standards. Papendal has athletes from more than ten Olympic sports.

– The fact that you get to meet tough athletes from other sports every day motivates athletes to the highest level. The Dutch system is unique in Europe, because almost all the best athletes are in the same place, says Meuwly.

The training and essential support services are top class.

– We get support from doctors, physiotherapists and researchers. In addition, we have professional coaches who can focus 100% on coaching.

Meuwly wants to point out stumbling blocks in terms of the development of a promising young athlete. He says that in many countries talent stays with the same company for a long time.

– All coaches think that they make athletes into Olympic medalists. However, the environment is not right.

– In Holland, it is understood that the athlete must be put in the best conditions in order to get the best out of him, says Meuwly.

The story continues after the picture and videos

7-player Anouk Vetter excelled in Oregon, e.g. in the javelin throw.

Fast paddler Nadine Visser is at her best in value competitions.

When talking about Dutch athletics in more detail, two interesting facts pop out: relays and multi-events.

Long messages in particular have become a great success in recent years. At the Tokyo Olympics, the Netherlands won silver in the men’s 4 x 400 meter relay. On the way to the World Championships in Oregon, he won silver in the long medley relay.

Meuwly reminds that Schippers, Hassan and Bol are exceptional individuals who do not tell about the functionality of the Dutch athletics system. Instead, message success reflects the success of the system better.

– It means that you have five, six or seven athletes who are at the international level. I think it is the biggest development that has happened in our athletics in the last two or three years, Meuwly refers to the posts.

At least some of Holland’s successes in recent years have been united by a tough match background. The most famous of them is Schippers, who before turning to sprinting won bronze at the World Championships in 2013. Nadine Visser has been seventh in the 7-match at the World Championships.

Current contestant Anouk Vetter was second both in Oregon and in Tokyo.

– Annimari Kortetta too coaching Bart Bennema is a former contestant. She has once caught a group of female athletes in her jumps, which has been good to move forward, Urheilu’s expert Tuomas Raja refers to Schippers, Visser and Vetter.

The traditional big countries of athletics, France and Germany, have been stagnant in recent years at the global prestigious competition level. In Oregon, Poland and Great Britain also coughed.

The Netherlands has nine different athletes in the top three of this season’s European statistics. Champion favorites are at least Bol with two personal trips, Jessica Schilder in the ball as well Nienke Brinkman at the marathon. The women’s long relay may also see the championship of the orange ones.

The medal table is won by the country with the most gold medals. However, Hassan, who won two golds and three medals at the Tokyo Olympics, is not included, which affects the number of gold medals.

– We don’t have enough good middle distance runners or jumpers. For example, Poland has a better situation in that sense. We need to get better in jumping and middle distances. Without Hassan’s gold medals, it’s harder to top the medal table, says Meuwly.

The story continues after the statistics and the picture.

Meuwly has also followed the Finnish athletics system. Six years ago, the Finnish Sports Federation launched three urban coaching centers, which have been focused on various activities. There are currently five centers in total.

Meuwly is critical of so many training centers. According to him, the best model is one where, for example, all the best Finnish jumpers train in the same place, surrounded by top coaches.

However, Tuomas Raja reminds us that there are many different system models. Raja says that there is also centralization in Finland, and for example, all support services can be found at the Olympic Training Center in Helsinki.

– In Holland, where the distances are small, such a thing is possible. It is not necessarily a model that is directly suitable for Finland. It is an unnecessarily long journey from Rovaniemi to Helsinki to the great Olympic training center.

Meuwly also understands cultural differences.

– Coaches and athletes should probably move to where this center is and live there almost the whole year. Sometimes people prefer to stay in their comfort zone and not go elsewhere. It’s not as good an option as a training center, says Meuwly.

Meuwly also highlights the circumstances. In some countries, it is impossible to practice some athletics in good conditions all year round, even if there is a functional training hall. For example, he lifts Viivi Lehikoinen’s 400-meter hurdles.

– Pole vaulting and 100-meter running can be practiced in the hall, but for the 400-meter hurdles, you need to practice on a 400-meter track with fences. Because of this, you have to go to foreign camps a lot.

– I think it was a big change for Viiv. In November, January, April and May there were training camps abroad. You’re competing against Jamaicans and Americans who can train every day in a t-shirt and shorts. It cannot be done in Finland.