Kitty van Haperen (20 April 1976) is a retired

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

and

bobsledder Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

Biography

Van Haperen was born at

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

. She started her career in athletics and reached the national rankings in 1991 in

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

. Since then she always was among the best ten of her country (at first in the youth and later with the seniors), even in 2005 when she made her final decision to become a bobsledder she still was second. In total Van Haperen became a six-time Dutch national champion in javelin throw, for the first time aged 20 in 1996 and the last time in 2004. On 28 July 1999 she threw 56.31 metres, a new Dutch national record, which she held until 17 June 2007 when Bregje Crolla reached 57.57 metres. After she reached the Dutch record her development in the sport stopped and never was able to progress further, not even after switching to a new coach

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Helge Zöllkau. As a result, she decided it was time for something new and after some talks with

Ilse Broeders Ilse Broeders (born 4 July 1977 in Loon op Zand) is a Dutch bobsledder who competed from 1999 to 2006. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of tenth in the two-woman event at Salt Lake City in 2002. She drove in the two-w ...

and

Jeannette Pennings Jeannette Pennings (born 7 October 1977 in Alphen aan den Rijn) is a Dutch bobsledder and track and field athlete. The high jumper Wilbert Pennings is her brother. She started with international bobsleigh competitions in 1999. She is the runne ...

she started off as a bobsledder in 2004, breaking internationally through in 2005 as Broeders' back-up runner in case anything would happen with Pennings. Later in 2005 two Dutch female bobs qualified for the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, however the team line-ups were still unsure. At the qualification play-off (named bob-off) held in Oberhof,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

four competitors fought for two seats behind Broeders and the other driver

Eline Jurg Eline Jurg (born 30 May 1973 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch bobsledder who has competed since 1996. Competed in two Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of sixth in the two-woman event at Salt Lake City in 2002. She drove in two-woman with Chr ...

Christel Bertens Christel Bertens (born 29 May 1983, in Tilburg) is a Dutch bobsledder and track and field athlete. Bertens is a runner in a 2-bob mostly alongside Eline Jurg. In 2005 two Dutch female bobs qualified for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, however t ...

, Jurg's main runner was the main victim of the qualification process and ended up in fourth position.

was teamed-up with her main driver Broeders, while Bertens was replaced by Van Haperen who finished second. Jurg's back-up runner Urta Rozenstruik became the Olympic back-up runner. At the Olympics Broeders/Pennings started off first, but crashed, causing concentration trouble for Jurg/Van Haperen who saw it all happen. This resulted in disappointing results and an eleventh position overall after four runs. Despite these happenings Van Haperen did not return to the track and field competitions, but she focusses totally on bobsledding.

External links

Damesbobslee.nl
1976 births Living people Dutch female bobsledders Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic bobsledders for the Netherlands Sportspeople from Tilburg Dutch javelin throwers 21st-century Dutch women {{Netherlands-bobsleigh-bio-stub