The Dutch recent sprint star Dafne Schippers has been named as the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships director. The next year’s indoor race will take place in Apeldoorn from March 6 to 9.
In September 2023, two-time world champion Dafne Schippers announced her retirement from competitive athletics.
“I gave myself a year to figure out what I want to do now and where I will draw new energy from. I think it’s great to stay involved in this world, athletics is in my heart”, said Dafne Schippers. “This assignment is a great honor. Half an hour drive from home, such a big European Championship in my country. I look forward to it. As a kid I had to be dragged inside when I was playing outside, so I think it’s very important for kids to be more active and I hope I can contribute to that”, added she.
Dafne Schippers holds the European record in the 200m with a time of 21.63 sec, making her the sixth-fastest woman of all time at this distance. She also holds the Dutch records in the 100m and long jump, and shares the Dutch records in the 60m indoor and 4x100m relay. Dafne Schippers was the 200m world champion at both the 2015 and the 2017 World Athletics Championships, the silver medalist in the 200m at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 200m champion in the 2016 Diamond League. Additionally, she won two silver and two bronze medals at world championships—heptathlon bronze in 2013, 100m silver in 2015, indoor 60m silver in 2016 and 100m bronze in 2017—and five (outdoor and indoor) European titles. She won twenty-two Dutch titles (outdoor and indoor). She was European Athlete of the Year in 2014 and 2015.
