Record medal haul for the Dutch at European indoor athletics

The Dutch team have completed the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Apeldoorn with nine medals, including seven gold— their best-ever performance.

“It was a madhouse over the past few hours,” team technical director Vincent Kortbeek said after the close. “It has been magical, and to do this at home, in Apeldoorn, is fantastic.”

The gold medals came thick and fast on the last day, with victories in the men’s and women’s 4×400 relay, in front of a roaring home crowd.

The women’s race had appeared to go wrong after the Dutch crossed the finishing line first but were later disqualified an obstruction during a changeover. That decision was later reversed.

Seven gold medals! 🇳🇱🍊

It was the best ever European Indoor Championships for the Netherlands in #Apeldoorn2025! 🥳

🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 pic.twitter.com/3Q0K8IYcg8

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) March 9, 2025

Samuel Chapple won the 800 metres with a sprint finish, a surprise winner after three years of injury problems.

Jessica Schilder took gold in the shot put, and Menno Vloon in the pole vault, sharing the top prize with Emmanouil Karalis of Greece.

On Saturday, in the absence of Femke Bol, Lieke Klaver stormed to the first individual title of her career in the 400 metres. Bol had opted out of the single events to focus on the relay and was also part of the gold-winning team in the mixed 4×400 relay earlier in the weekend.

The two other Dutch medals were both silver. Sofie Dokter came second in the pentathlon to Saga Vanninen of Finland. Nadine Visser took silver in the 60 metres hurdles behind Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland, setting a new Dutch record in the process.