Dafne Schippers facts for kids
![]() Dafne Schippers with her gold 200 m medal at the 2017 World Championships in London
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Born | Utrecht, Netherlands |
15 June 1992 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.79 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 68 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | 60 m, 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 m relay, long jump, heptathlon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) |
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Medal record
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Dafne Schippers (born June 15, 1992) is a retired Dutch track and field athlete. She was known for her amazing speed in sprinting events. She holds the European record for the 200 meters, running it in 21.63 seconds. This makes her the sixth-fastest woman ever at that distance! She also holds Dutch records in the 100 meters and long jump.
Dafne was a two-time world champion in the 200 meters, winning in 2015 and 2017. She also earned a silver medal in the 200 meters at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Throughout her career, she won many medals, including five European titles. She was named European Athlete of the Year in both 2014 and 2015. Dafne announced her retirement from professional athletics in 2023.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Athletics
Dafne Schippers was born in Utrecht, Netherlands, on June 15, 1992. She started her journey in athletics at just nine years old. She joined a track and field club called Hellas in her hometown of Utrecht.
Career Highlights
Starting with Heptathlon
Dafne first competed in the heptathlon, which is a competition with seven different track and field events. She won gold medals in the heptathlon at the 2010 World Junior Championships and the 2011 European Athletics Junior Championships. At the 2010 World Junior Championships, she also won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay with her teammates.
In 2011, at the World Championships in South Korea, Dafne set a new Dutch national record in the 200 meters. She continued to improve, even though she was still focusing on the heptathlon.

In 2012, Dafne competed in the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Finland. Her team won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 meters relay, setting a new national record. A year later, at the 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships, she won gold in the 100 meters and bronze in the long jump.
At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Dafne won a bronze medal in the heptathlon. This was a big moment, as she became the first Dutch woman to win a medal in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships. In 2014, she set another national record in the heptathlon.
Switching to Sprinting
Dafne's success in 2014, where she won gold medals in both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the European Championships, made her think about focusing only on sprinting. In June 2015, she announced that she would concentrate on sprinting for the upcoming 2015 World Championships in Athletics and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The year 2015 was fantastic for Dafne. She won a gold medal in the 60 meters at the European Indoor Championships. Then, at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, she won a silver medal in the 100 meters and a gold medal in the 200 meters. Her 200-meter winning time of 21.63 seconds was a new European record.
In 2016, she continued her winning streak. She won the 100 meters at the European Championships in Amsterdam. Her Dutch team also won the 4 × 100 meters relay with a new national record.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, many people expected her to win a gold medal. She finished fifth in the 100 meters final. She then won a silver medal in the 200 meters. Dafne was disappointed, saying, "I came here for gold."
Changing Coaches
After the Rio Olympics, Dafne decided to make a change. She started working with a new coach, Rana Reider, to try a different approach. Her goal was to defend her world title at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London. She won a bronze medal in the 100 meters and then successfully defended her 200 meters title. She was very happy, saying, "It's a great feeling to be world champion for the second time."
In 2018, Dafne competed at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin. She won a bronze medal in the 100 meters and a silver medal in the 200 meters. Her 4 × 100 meters relay team also won a silver medal.
Later in 2018, Dafne decided to return to her first coach, Bart Bennema. She felt she needed to change her training again to improve her performance. In 2019, she won a silver medal in the 60 meters at the European Indoor Championships. However, she had to withdraw from the 2019 World Championships in Doha due to an injury.
Dafne Schippers officially announced her retirement as a professional athlete in September 2023.
After Retirement
Even after retiring from competing, Dafne Schippers remains involved in athletics. In 2024, she worked as a commentator for World Athletics at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. In March 2024, she became the tournament director for the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
Key Achievements and Records
Dafne Schippers holds several impressive records:
- 200 meters: 21.63 seconds (2015), which is the European record.
- 100 meters: 10.81 seconds (2015), a Dutch national record.
- Long jump: 6.78 meters (2014), a former Dutch national record.
- Heptathlon: 6545 points (2014), a former Dutch national record.
- 60 meters indoor: 7.00 seconds (2016), which is a Dutch national record.
- 4 × 100 meters relay: 42.04 seconds (2016), a former Dutch national record.
Recognition and Awards
Dafne Schippers received many awards for her achievements:
- She was named the Dutch Women's Athlete of the Year seven times, from 2011 to 2017.
- She was the European Women's Athlete of the Year in 2014 and 2015.
- She was also named Dutch Sportswoman of the Year in 2015 and 2017.
In 2017, a bridge in her hometown of Utrecht was named the Dafne Schippersbrug (Dafne Schippers Bridge) in her honor.
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Dafne Schippers para niños