Thijmen Kupers (born 4 October 1991) is a Dutch

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who specialises 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 ...

. Raised in Lengel,

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

,Thijmen Kupers
Running Team Achterhoek. Retrieved on 2014-03-10. he participated in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

long-distance running Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

as a child. He gradually became more interested in running and signed up with Running Team Achterhoek, a local group. He competed in national junior competitions and began to train regularly around 2008. He placed in the top three in the Dutch junior 800 m race in 2009 and 2010. Kupers began to make an impact nationally in 2012. He set a personal best of 1:48.71 minutes to win the indoor Dutch title, then set a best of 1:46.46 minutes at the

FBK Games The FBK Games is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1981. Its name honours Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold meda ...

, which ranked him second among Dutch athletes behind

Robert Lathouwers Robert Lathouwers (born 8 July 1983 in Rotterdam) is a former Dutch athlete who mainly focused on the 400 and 800 metres. Biography Lathouwers was born and raised in Rotterdam and has a sister who is two years older than he is named Maura.

. He was selected for the

2012 European Athletics Championships The 2012 European Athletics Championships were held in Helsinki, Finland between 27 June and 1 July 2012. This edition marks the beginning of a new two-year cycle of the European Athletics Championships which were previously held every four years. ...

and made the semi-finals at the competition – his first senior international event. He defended his national indoor title in 2013 and went on to run in the semi-finals at the

2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at Scandinavium and Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 1–3 March 2013. Bidding process The decision to grant the event for Gothenburg was made by the European Athletics Council a ...

. Outdoors, he came fifth at the

European Team Championships European Team Championships is the name of the team sports competition between European countries organized by various European sports federations. May refer to: * European Athletics Team Championships, former European Team Championships (ETC), ath ...

first league race, then sixth at the

2013 European Athletics U23 Championships The 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships was the 9th edition of the biennial athletics competition between European athletes under the age of twenty-three. It was held in Tampere, Finland from 10 to 14 July. Russia topped the medal table with ...

, where he was also seventh in the

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. He won his first Dutch outdoor title in Amsterdam that season.Thijmen Kupers
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-03-10. Kupers won a third straight indoor title at the start of 2014 and went on to record a best of 1:46.55 minutes at the

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland. Prepar ...

, where he came fifth in the final.Jalava, Mirko (2014-03-09)
Report: men’s 800m final – Sopot 2014
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-10.

Personal bests

outdoor – 1:44:99 min (2017)Thijmen Kupers - IAAF Athlete Profile
*

indoor – 1:46.21 min (2016)

Competition record

¹ Din not start in the semifinals ;National titles *800 metres indoor: 2012, 2013, 2014 *800 metres outdoor: 2013

References

External links

* * * * __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Kupers, Thijmen 1991 births Living people Dutch Indoor Athletics Championships winners Dutch male middle-distance runners People from Montferland Sportspeople from Gelderland World Athletics Championships athletes for the Netherlands 21st-century Dutch people