Dafne Schippers is thinking about the future and the possibilities that might lie ahead. Having retired from a career as one of the world’s best sprinters in September of 2023, the now 32-year-old admits that life outside of the athletics bubble has taken quite some getting used to.
The thought of what comes next keeps coming to mind, though, and the two-time 200m world champion has ideas. She has enjoyed the media work in which she has been involved since stepping off the track, for example, while there is also a desire to get the tracksuit back on, roll her sleeves up and help young athletes in the Netherlands to benefit from her extensive top-level experience. “I’m keeping an open mind and I’m still searching for where my next passion lies.” she says.
That’s not to say Schippers is currently to be found twiddling her thumbs, though. Quite the opposite, in fact. She is the tournament director for the European Indoor Athletics Championships which will take place from March 6-9 in the Dutch town of Apeldoorn and represent the first major staging post in the athletics year ahead.
It’s a role she is taking extremely seriously.
“I really hope we can create a great tournament where the organisation helps athletes perform at their best,” says the three-time Olympian. “It’s important that everything is well-organised, so the athletes can fully focus on their performances.
“We have three major organisations that are really involved in organising the tournament and what I really enjoy is being able to share my perspective as an athlete. I hope that I can help fine-tune things and add those final details, although it can sometimes be challenging, as there are many different interests and perspectives to consider, which means decisions have to be made.”
She adds: “I also hope this event gives many new talents the chance to show what they can do on a big stage. A tournament like this is not just about the stars of today but also about giving the next generation the opportunity to shine and gain experience.”
That next generation is given plenty of consideration during Schippers’ interview with AW. She was part of the first group of athletes to base themselves at the Olympic Training Centre in Papendal, and has seen first hand how investment and a change in approach through that set-up has developed and provided a pathway for talents such as Femke Bol and Lieke Klaver to flourish.
“Back then, there wasn’t a full-time programme,” says Schippers. “I grew along with its development – from training a few times a week to a full-time programme with the best facilities you could have to perform at your best. It took some years to build into a truly professional organisation, and now we’re really seeing the benefits of that investment.
“When you have a professional organisation, it allows you to perform as a country. I truly believe that the more medals we win, the more airtime we’ll get on television and the more attention the sport will receive overall. This means more kids will see it and might want to give the sport a try. As athletics becomes more popular, there’s a greater chance that more talented young people will choose to pursue it.”
Dafne Schippers (Getty)
Schippers’ CV is as impressive as it is lengthy. Outdoors, she won those aforementioned two world titles (in 2015 and 2017) plus an Olympic silver medal (2016) over 200m, as well as European titles over 200m and 100m (twice for the shorter sprint) and the 4x100m relay. The tenth anniversary of her 60m European Indoors gold is fast approaching, too, while there’s also a world bronze medal in the heptathlon from 2013 that serves as a reminder of her combined events past.
She was a trailblazer, an example setter and now the Dutch set-up is turning out medal-winning performances at a consistent rate. The Netherlands were fourth in the athletics medals table at last summer’s Olympics, a performance matched at the World Indoor Championships and which followed eighth at the World Championships in Budapest and second at the last edition of the European Indoors back in 2023.
“Since 2015, we’ve shown incredible progress in our performances,” says Schippers. “As a small country we’re increasingly competing at the world’s top level.
“We have a great group of athletes performing really well right now. However, I think it’s important that, in the Netherlands, we don’t focus only on these athletes but also give plenty of attention to talent development. Talents are the future, and we need them to continue achieving success.
“I’ve been thinking about how rewarding it might be to pass on my expertise to young talents. In the Netherlands, there aren’t many initiatives aimed at raising the level of sprinting, which is something I think could make a real difference with. Who knows, maybe I’ll find myself in a position where I can explore whether coaching or mentoring is the right path for me?
“Working with heptathletes would be amazing, too. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, though, so if I were to take on a role like that, I’d want to do it well. That’s why I’d love to learn from other great coaches first. I’m also very interested in the mental side of sports. It would be fascinating to explore that further and see if it’s something where I could help others.”
There will undoubtedly be talents to step forward in Apeldoorn, but plenty of attention will also fall on the Netherlands’ biggest athletics star out there right now – Bol. The 24-year-old reigning world and European indoor champion has made a habit of producing fireworks indoors recently, breaking the world “short track” 400m record repeatedly in the past two years. She is also the linchpin of the relay teams which have done so much to boost the Dutch medal tally at major championships.
Femke Bol (Getty)
Things didn’t quite go to plan, however, in her favoured event – the 400m hurdles – at the Paris Olympics last summer. Bol had been expected to push Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone closer at the Stade de France, but paid for testing her limits early in the race and ultimately finished a distant third as the American successfully defended her Olympic gold with another world record-breaking performance.
Schippers saw bravery rather than failure from her compatriot, however.
“I’m quite experienced when it comes to performing under high pressure, but I’m certain that Femke sets the bar higher for herself than anyone else could,” she says. “It also shows that our sport isn’t something you can completely control. It all comes down to the smallest details – just missing the right balance with lactate or hitting the wall a little too early. That’s all part of the sport.
“She went to Paris with one goal and gave it everything she had, which earned her the bronze medal. She pushed a little too hard too soon, so the fatigue set in earlier than expected. I thought the way she approached it was incredibly brave. I don’t think it had anything to do with pressure, but rather her determination to go for gold against a very strong opponent like Sydney.”
Dafne Schippers at London 2017 (Getty)
The thought of indoor competition stirs up mixed memories for Schippers. She admits that 60m wasn’t her natural strength but the innate competitor still loved the chance to toe a startline at the distance whenever possible. It was at the 2019 European Indoors in Glasgow where the last major medal of her career – 60m silver – was won, too, but it was also at those championships where: “I felt a sharp pain in my back during the warm-up for the final. Unfortunately, that pain would come back many times in the years that followed.”
It was that injury that ultimately brought Schippers’ career to an end.
“The pain and not being able to train at 100 per cent were the deciding factors,” she says. “I’ve always been the kind of athlete who either competes at the top level or moves on to something new.
“The first 10 months after retiring were overwhelming but exciting. So many new and great opportunities came my way, and I threw myself into them wholeheartedly – everything from doing commentary for Dutch TV and World Athletics to speaking at events and even becoming tournament director for Apeldoorn.
“I found all these new experiences incredibly exciting, but they also demanded a lot, especially as a former athlete. When you’re used to such a structured and disciplined life with clear goals in sight, adjusting to a new reality where you have to create your own structure and set your own goals is a real learning curve. But it definitely has its advantages. Performing at your peak takes a heavy toll on both body and mind. Even now, it’s still a journey – a process that will take some time.”
Schippers misses the cut and thrust of competition, too. “The adrenaline and rush of happiness that comes with it are incredible – it makes you feel like you can take on the whole world,” she says.
But, as an observer, she has been left fascinated by the current dynamics at play in women’s sprinting. Julien Alfred seized her chance in Paris to stun world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, while there was also Gabby Thomas’ impressive Olympic displays over 200m and both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Dafne Schippers (Mark Shearman)
“Many of the athletes I competed against for years are still competing but one clear difference is the impact of better spike technology, which has helped athletes run faster,” says Schippers. “For example, running under seven seconds in the 60m used to be unique and very special during my career. In recent years, it’s been done several times, and more records are being broken in different events.
“I’m really curious to see what will happen this year. We have some new names, like Julien and Sha’Carri, but surprisingly we didn’t see the big Jamaican women at their best during the Olympics. I’m interested to see if they will come back stronger and give more competition.”
When it comes to both Schippers’ favourite sport and her wider life, what comes next will be worth watching.
FactfileBorn: June 15, 1992Events: 60m, 100m, 200m, HeptathlonPBs: 7.00/10.81/21.63/6545Major honours:2019: European Indoor Championships 60m silver2018: European Championships 100m bronze2017: World Championships 200m gold and 100m bronze2016: Olympic Games 200m silver; World Indoor Championships 60m silver; European Championships 100m and 4x100m relay gold2015: World Championships 200m gold and 100m silver; European Indoor Championships 60m gold2014: European Championships 100m and 200m gold2013: World Championships heptathlon bronze2012: European Championships 4x100m relay silver2010: World U20 Championships heptathlon gold and 4x100m relay bronze
