Ellen van Langen

Ellen van Langen is a Dutch former middle-distance runner who won the 800m Olympic gold medal at Barcelona 1992, outsprinting the favourites in the final stretch.

Ellen van Langen did not take up serious athletics until she was 20, yet six years later she produced the race of her life to win Olympic 800m gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games, her Dutch record of 1:55.54 remaining her personal best from that day to her retirement.. She played football until age 20, only turning to serious athletics afterward and specialising in the 800m. Her rise was steady rather than sudden: she won her first of four Dutch national 800m titles in 1989, and took silver at the World Student Games (Universiade) in Duisburg that year behind Cuba's Ana Quirot. Heading into the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, van Langen led the 1991 world list but was not considered the favourite for gold, with that role going to 1991 World champion Liliya Nurutdinova of the Unified Team. In the final, van Langen produced a devastating finishing kick, outsprinting Nurutdinova in the closing metres to win in a Dutch record of 1:55.54 — still her lifetime best — with Nurutdinova taking silver and Cuba's Ana Fidelia Quirot the bronze. The victory earned her the Dutch Sportswoman of the Year award for 1992. Injuries increasingly disrupted the remainder of van Langen's career; her best result after Barcelona was sixth place at the 1995 World Championships. She retired from competition in 1998 and moved into athletics administration, later becoming director of the FBK Games, the prestigious annual athletics meeting in Hengelo named after fellow Dutch Olympic great Fanny Blankers-Koen. She has also served as an ambassador for Right to Play International and the Hartekind Foundation.

Middle-distance runner renowned for a powerful closing sprint over the final 100 metres

One of the Netherlands' most celebrated middle-distance runners, later shaping Dutch athletics as director of the FBK Games

• Olympic gold, 800m (1992)
• 4x Dutch national champion, 800m
• Dutch Sportswoman of the Year (1992)