Maria ("Mia") Francisca Philomena Hoogakker-Gommers (born 26 September 1939) 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 ...

, who competed mainly in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. She was the second female world record-holder over

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

in October 1967 at

Sittard Sittard (; ) is a city in the Netherlands, situated in the southernmost province of Limburg. The town is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen and has almost 37.500 inhabitants in 2016. In its east, Sittard borders the German municipali ...

(The Netherlands), breaking the record of Anne Smith, who set the record in June of that year, by almost two seconds.World record progression at athletix.org
/ref> Gommers competed for The Netherlands in the 1968 Olympics held in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

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in the 800 metres, where she won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

. On 14 June 1969 she also broke Smith's world record on the mile in an event in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. At the 1969 European Championships in Athletics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

on 20 September 1969, she ran below

Paola Pigni Paola Pigni (30 December 1945 – 11 June 2021) was an Italian middle- and long-distance runner. She was a three-time world champion in cross country and held the world record over five distance running events on the track, from 1500m to 10,0 ...

's new 1500 m record, but was beaten to the finish by Jaroslava Jehlickova. In 1969 she was chosen the Dutch female sportsperson of the year.

References

1939 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Dutch female middle-distance runners European Athletics Championships medalists World record setters in athletics (track and field) Olympic athletes of the Netherlands Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands People from Stein, Limburg Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Limburg (Netherlands) 20th-century Dutch women {{Netherlands-athletics-bio-stub