Dutch · Utrecht, Netherlands · Born 15 June 1992Dutch sprinter and back-to-back world 200m champion (2015, 2017), once the fastest European woman in history.
Dafne Schippers was born on 15 June 1992 in Utrecht, Netherlands, and began competing in athletics at nine, initially trying every event before settling into the heptathlon, where she won gold at the 2010 World Junior Championships. Schippers won bronze in the heptathlon at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, becoming the first Dutch woman to medal in the event, before an unexpectedly fast 200m split at the 2014 Hypomeeting prompted her to switch her focus entirely to sprinting. Schippers delivered a stunning breakthrough at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, winning gold in the 200m with a time of 21.63 seconds, the third-fastest in history at the time, and silver in the 100m, before adding a second world 200m title in 2017. Schippers won Olympic silver in the 200m at the 2016 Rio Games, and announced her retirement in 2023 after winning 22 Dutch national titles and being named European Athlete of the Year twice, remaining one of the most successful athletes the Netherlands has produced across both combined events and sprinting.
Sprinter 100m/200m
How They Played
Explosive acceleration with strong finish in 200m
Lasting Impact
One of Europe's greatest female sprinters
Career Honours
- 2015,2017 World champ 200m
- 2016 Olympic silver 200m
Dutch Athletes