Dafne Schippers

Dafne Schippers is a Dutch track and field athlete born on 15th June 1992. She hails from Utrecht city in the Netherlands. She is a former heptathlete, now competes mostly in sprints and represents the Netherlands in 100m and 200m events.

Background:

Dafne Schippers was born to Ernst Schippers and Karin Schippers. Her father is a physical therapist and her mother is a middle school teacher. She has two elder siblings, Derek Schipper (brother) and Sanne Schippers.

Dafne showed her interest in athletics at a very young age. She attended a local school in Utrecht city, where she began to compete in athletics at the age of 9. Two years later, in 2003, 11-year-old Dafne won the first medal of her career. In 2005, she helped her track and field club Hellas in a school championship.

After completion of her school education, Dafne Schipper joined Leidsche Rijn College and acquired a diploma in HAVO. Apart from her athletics career, she is a cooking enthusiast and has a cookbook named Dafne Likes Kookboek.

Rise to Glory:

Before stepping into the international stage in 2009, Dafne Schippers had been successful at the national level in the junior category. She made her international debut at the European Junior Athletics Championships, where she finished 4th in the Heptathlon. In 2010, Dafne won the Heptathlon title and a Bronze medal in the 4x100 relay at the World Junior Athletics Championships.

In 2011, Dafne won the Heptathlon title at the European Junior Athletics Championships. Two years later, in 2013, she won the Bronze medal in Long Jump, while finishing 4th in 4x100m relay at the U-23 European Athletics Championships.

In 2019, Dafne won the 100m national title at the Dutch National Athletics Championships.

Dafne Schippers is recorded as the world’s third fastest-runner (21.63s) in women’s 200m dash and joint 23rd fastest women 100m runner (10.81s)

Major Achievements:

Dafne Schippers made her senior international debut at the 2011 European Indoor Championships, where she finished 11th in the 60-meter semi-final. That year, in August, Dafne finished 6th in the 200m semi-final and 9th in 4x100m relay heats.

In 2012, Dafne helped her Dutch relay team to win the Silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the European Athletics Championships. In August, she made her Olympics debut at the London Olympics and finished 6th in Heptathlon, while she alongside the Dutch relay team finished 11th in the 4x100m relay.

In 2013, Dafne Schippers won her world championship medal by clinching Bronze in Heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships. She would go on to win two Gold medals in 200m (2015 and 2017), a Silver (2015), and a Bronze (2017) in 100m at the World Championships. In 2014, Dafne won a Gold medal and a Bronze in 200m and 100m at the Continental Cup. The following year, Dafne won the 60m title at the European Indoor Championships.

In 2016, She appeared in her second Olympics at the Rio Olympics, where she won her first Olympic medal by clinching Silver in 200m by clocking 21.88s. That year, she emerged as Diamond League winner in 200m in Zurich, Switzerland.

At the European Athletics Championships, Dafne had bagged four titles – two in 100m (2014 and 2016) and one each in 200m (2014), and 4x100m relay (2016). In 2018, at the Continental Cup, she made it to the podium with a Silver medal in 200m.

Dafne Schippers will compete in her third Olympics at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and is a medal hope for Dutch in the women's 200m.