Lieke Klaver (pronounced[ˈlikəˈklaːvər]; born 20 August 1998) is a Dutchtrack and field athlete who competes insprinting. She specializes in the200 metres and in the400 metres. In the4 × 400 metres relay, she is the2023 World Champion and the2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team and the2024 Olympic Champion with the Dutch mixed team.[3]
Klaver represented the Netherlands at the2020 Tokyo Olympics. She won silver medals in the 400 metres short track at the2024 World Indoor Championships and at the2023 European Indoor Championships and a bronze medal in the 400 metres at the2024 European Championships. She also took four national titles (outdoor andindoor).
She has won eleven major medals as part of the Dutch 4 × 400 m relay teams, either women's or mixed, including silver for the mixed relays at the2022 World Championships and the2024 World Athletics Relays and gold for the women's relays at the2023 World Championships and2024 World Indoor Championships.
Lieke Klaver was born on 20 August 1998[4] inVelsen-Zuid, Netherlands. She has an older brother.[5]
At age 8, she became a member of the athletics club Streker Atletiek Vereniging inGrootebroek.[5]
Klaver gained her first international experience at age 15 at the2014 World Under-20 Championships held inEugene, Oregon, U.S., where she competed in the4 × 100 metres relay.[4]
A year later, she reached the final of the200 metres at the2015 European U20 Championships inEskilstuna, Sweden. The Dutch women's 4 × 100 m relay team was disqualified in the final there, but their time from the heats would have given them second place in the final.[4]
She was still ajunior when she claimed her first senior Dutch national title, winning the 200 m at the 2017Dutch Indoor Athletics Championships inApeldoorn.[4]
Since 2018, Klaver has also competed in the400 metres, gradually shifting her focus to that distance, but without losing sight of the shorter event.[6] In 2019, she won two medals for the 400 m at the Dutch Championships (indoors and outdoors).[4] It earned her a place on the national4 × 400 m relay team, whichfinished seventh at theDoha World Championships in Qatar that year.[7]
In 2020, she claimed her first Dutch 400 m title (indoors), staying ahead of training buddy and rivalFemke Bol.[4] During thispandemic season, Klaver won also her firstDiamond League race, a victory in the 400 m at theGolden Gala in Rome, Italy with a time of 50.98 s, becoming just the second Dutch woman to break the 51-second barrier.[4]
Klaver representedNetherlands at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, competing in thewomen's 400 m and both thewomen's andmixed 4 × 400 m relays.[8] In the mixed 4 × 400 m relay, she competed in both the heats and final, in which the Dutch team finished fourth. In the women's 400 m, she was eliminated in the semi-finals. In the women's 4 × 400 m relay, she competed in the heats and final, helping the Dutch team finish in sixth place.
In February 2022, at the Dutch Indoor Championships, she set a new personal best for the indoor 400 m with a time of 51.20 s.[9] The following month, at theWorld Indoor Championships, she finished sixth in the women's 400 m. In the women's 4 × 400 m relay, she ran the first leg in the heats and final, helping the Netherlands win the silver medal. During the summer season, Klaver greatly lowered her outdoor pre-2022 best (50.98 s) down to 50.18 seconds in the semi-finals at theWorld Championships inEugene, Oregon, where she finished fourth in the final.[4] She also competed in the mixed and women's 4 × 400 m relays. In the mixed relay, she ran the second leg in the heats and final, helping the Netherlands win the silver medal. In the women's relay, her team was disqualified in the heats.
In February 2023, in the 400 m race at the Dutch Indoors in which Femke Bol set a world record of 49.26 s, Klaver massively lowered her lifetime indoor best by nearly 0.7 s down to 50.34 s, putting her joint 13th on theworld all-time list. Only two-time Olympic champion,Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas, and Bol had run faster indoors since 2007.[10][11] The following month, Klaver won her first individual major medal, a silver for the 400 m at theEuropean Indoor Championships held in Istanbul.[4]
Klaver's success carried over into the outdoor season. Throughout the season, she lowered her personal bests over 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m. Her biggest performance of the year came on 16 July at theSilesian Diamond League, where she lowered her 400 m personal best to 49.81 s, breaking the 50-second barrier for the first time in her career.[citation needed]
Later that year, Klaver had a busy schedule at theWorld Championship in Budapest. Aside from running the individual 400 metres event, she was also part of the Dutch relay squads in the mixed 4 × 400 metres, women's 4 × 400 metres, and women's 4 × 100 metres. On 19 August, during the4 × 400 mixed relay final, Klaver's teammate Femke Bol fell within metres of the finish line, while vying withAlexis Holmes of the USA for first place. Landing face first, Bol lost the relay baton over the finish line, making it impossible for the Netherlands team to legitimately finish the race and resulting in aDNF.[12]
After the disappointment, Klaver continued her championships in theindividual 400 metres. After winning her semi-final in 49.87 s, she looked to be a potential medal contender. In the final however, she changed her race plan, starting much faster over the first 200 metres than usual. In the final 100 metres, she fell back to the middle of the field, resulting in a sixth place finish.[13]
Later that week, Klaver was brought in for thewomen's 4 × 100 metres final. The Dutch team lost the baton on the last handover, resulting in another DNF.[citation needed]
Klaver ended her championships in thewomen's 4 × 400 metres final. During her second leg, she brought the Dutch team back from the middle of the pack to the top three, along with Great Britain and Jamaica. On the fourth leg, Klaver's teammate Bol anchored the Dutch team to the world title, passing the Brits and Jamaicans in the last metres.[14] Individually, Klaver ran a split time of 48.78 seconds, which was the second fastest split of the race after Bol's 48.75 seconds.[15][16]
On 17 September, Klaver was third in the2023 Diamond League final of the 400 metres with a time of 50.47 seconds, after championMarileidy Paulino andNatalia Kaczmarek.[17]
Klaver won the 400 m short track races at the2024 Czech Indoor Gala in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in 50.54 s and at the2024 Copernicus Cup in Torún, Poland, in 50.57 s, and she finished second at the2024 Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Liévin, France in 50.50 s. This made her the overall winner in the 400 m of the2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour.
Klaver won a silver medal at the2024 Dutch Indoor Championships in 50.10 s, whereFemke Bol won gold.
Klaver won a silver medal in the400 metres short track at the2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, finishing in 50.16 s almost a second after Femke Bol.[18] She continued to win a gold medal in the4 × 400 metres short track relay with the Dutch women's team in a new Dutch record time of 3:25.07 min.
At the2024 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in themixed 4 × 400 m relay and a silver medal in thewomen's 4 × 400 m relay.[19][20]
At theCzech Indoor Gala in Ostrava, Klaver won the 400 m short track in 50.92 s.[4] In March, Klaver won her first individual major gold medal, in the 400 m at theEuropean Indoor Championships held inApeldoorn.[21]
Information from herWorld Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[4]
| Event | Time | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 metres | 7.41 i | Apeldoorn, Netherlands | 1 February 2020 | |
| 100 metres | 11.33 | Breda, Netherlands | 28 July 2023 | (Wind: −0.2 m/s) |
| Willemstad, Curaçao | 28 April 2024 | (Wind: −0.1 m/s) | ||
| 150 metres | 16.89 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 8 September 2020 | (Wind: +0.6 m/s) |
| 200 metres | 22.46 | Chorzów, Poland | 25 June 2023 | (Wind: +1.2 m/s) |
| 200 metres short track | 22.81 i | Metz, France | 3 February 2024 | |
| 300 metres | 36.49 | Brussels, Belgium | 25 May 2025 | |
| 400 metres | 49.58 | London, United Kingdom | 20 July 2024 | |
| 400 metres short track | 50.10 i | Apeldoorn, Netherlands | 18 February 2024 |
| Year | 60 m | 100 m | 200 m | 200 m sh | 400 m | 400 m sh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 8.11 i | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 7.97 i | 12.65 | — | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 7.84 i | 12.08 | 24.40 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | — | 11.89 | 24.03 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 7.59 i | 11.98 | 24.00 | 24.59 i | — | — |
| 2017 | 7.48 i | 11.74 | 23.84 | 23.82 i | — | — |
| 2018 | 7.67 i | 11.49 | 23.62 | — | 54.41 | — |
| 2019 | — | 11.46 | 23.35 | — | 53.18 | 53.47 i |
| 2020 | 7.41 i | 11.54 | 22.66 | — | 50.98 | 52.45 i |
| 2021 | — | 11.46 | 22.83 | 23.10 i | 50.98 | 51.21 i |
| 2022 | — | 11.46 | 22.71 | 23.27 i | 50.18 | 51.20 i |
| 2023 | — | 11.33 | 22.46 | 22.97 i | 49.81 | 50.34 i |
| 2024 | — | 11.33 | 22.72 | 22.81 i | 49.58 | 50.10 i |
| 2025 | — | 22.59 | 23.10 i | 50.23 | 50.38 i |
Key: Lifetime best (in bold)
| Type | Event | Time | Venue | Date | Record | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 4 × 100 m relay | 42.02 | Madrid, Spain | 28 June 2025 | NR | Teamed withNadine Visser,Minke Bisschops, andMarije van Hunenstijn. Klaver ran the second leg. |
| 4 × 400 m relay | 3:19.50 | Paris, France | 10 August 2024 | NR[22] | Teamed withCathelijn Peeters,Lisanne de Witte andFemke Bol. Klaver's split time for the first leg was 50.25 s.[23] | |
| 4 × 400 m relay short track | 3:24.34 i | Apeldoorn, Netherlands | 9 March 2025 | NR | Teamed withNina Franke,Cathelijn Peeters, andFemke Bol. Klaver ran the first leg. | |
| Mixed | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:07.43 | Paris, France | 3 August 2024 | AR[24] | Second-fastest national team of all time.[25] Teamed withEugene Omalla,Isaya Klein Ikkink andFemke Bol.[24] Klaver's split time for the second leg was 49.26 s.[26] |
Information from herWorld Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[4]
Klaver has had rankings for three events and an overall ranking in theWorld Athletics Rankings.
| Year | Event | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 200 m | 400 m | ||
| 2019 | 267[27] | 89[28] | 140[29] | 1299[30] |
| 2020 | — | 94[31] | 80[32] | 838[33] |
| 2021 | — | 34[34] | 11[35] | 205[36] |
| 2022 | — | 21[37] | 5[38] | 108[39] |
| 2023 | — | 14[40] | 4[41] | 66[42] |
| 2024 | 184[43] | 13[44] | 3[45] | 55[46] |
| 2025 | — | — | 6[47] | 79[48] |
Key: Lifetime best (in bold)
| Year | Competition | Location | Result | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | World Junior Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 8th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 45.29 | |
| 2015 | European Junior Championships | Eskilstuna, Sweden | 6th | 200 m | 23.69 | |
| – (f) | 4 × 100 m relay | DNF | ||||
| 2016 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | – (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | DNF | |
| 2017 | European Junior Championships | Grosseto, Italy | 6th | 200 m | 24.06 | |
| 8th | 4 × 100 m relay | 45.61 | ||||
| 2019 | World Relays | Yokohama, Japan | 7th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:29.03 | (1st in Final B) |
| European Team Championships, 1st League | Sandnes, Norway | 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:33.97 | ||
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 7th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:27.89 | [note 1] | |
| 2021 | European Indoor Championships | Toruń, Poland | 5th | 400 msh | 52.03 i | |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relaysh | 3:27.15 i | ELCRNR | |||
| World Relays | Chorzów, Poland | 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:30.12 | [note 2] | |
| 8th | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:18.04 | NR[note 3] | |||
| European Team Championships, 1st League | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 2nd | 200 m | 23.32 | ||
| 1st | 4 × 100 m relay | 43.38 | ||||
| Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 18th (sf) | 400 m | 51.37 | ||
| 6th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:23.74 | NR | |||
| 4th | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:10.36 | NR | |||
| 2022 | World Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 6th | 400 msh | 52.67 i | |
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relaysh | 3:28.57 i | SB | |||
| World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 4th | 400 m | 50.33 | (NR h & sf) | |
| – (h) | 4 × 400 m relay | DQ | ||||
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:09.90 | NR | |||
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 5th | 200 m | 22.88 | ||
| 6th | 400 m | 50.56 | ||||
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:20.87 | ALNR (49.2 split) | |||
| 2023 | European Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 2nd | 400 msh | 50.57 i | |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relaysh | 3:25.66 i | CRNR | |||
| European Games /European Team Championships First Division | Chorzów, Poland | 1st | 200 metres | 22.46 | ||
| 1st | 4 × 100 metres relay | 42.61 | ||||
| World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | – (f) | 4 × 400 m mixed | DNF | ||
| 6th | 400 m | 50.33 | ||||
| – (f) | 4 × 100 m relay | DNF | ||||
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:20.72 | WLNR | |||
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 2nd | 400 msh | 50.16 i | |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relaysh | 3:25.07 i | NR[49] | |||
| World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 2nd | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:11.45 | ||
| European Championships | Rome, Italy | 3rd | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:10.73 | (50.74 split) | |
| 3rd | 400 m | 50.08 | ||||
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:22.39 | (50.57 split)[50] | |||
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 1st | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:07.43 | AR | |
| 10th (sf)[51] | 400 m | 50.44 | [note 4] | |||
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:19.50 | NR | |||
| 2025 | European Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn, Netherlands | 1st | 400 m | 50.38 i | |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:24.34i | CR | |||
| World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:09.96 | ||
| 11th (sf) | 400 m | 50.25 | ||||
| 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:20.18 |
| Year | Competition | Location | Result | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Dutch U18 Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 8th | 60 m | 8.11 i |
| 2014 | Dutch U18 Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 3rd | 60 m | 7.85 i |
| Dutch U18 Championships | Amsterdam | 3rd | 100 m | 12.38 | |
| 3rd | 200 m | 24.77 | |||
| 2015 | Dutch U20 Championships | Breda | 5th | 100 m | 12.13 |
| 2nd | 200 m | 24.03 | |||
| 2016 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 5th (sf) | 60 m | 7.60 i |
| Dutch U20 Championships | Breda | 3rd | 100 m | 12.15 | |
| 1st | 200 m | 24.15 | |||
| 2017 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 4th | 60 m | 7.48 i |
| 1st | 200 msh | 23.82 i | |||
| Dutch U20/U18 Championships, U20 Events | Vught | 1st | 100 m | 11.74 | |
| 1st | 200 m | 23.90 | |||
| 2018 | Dutch Championships | Utrecht | 7th | 400 m | 54.55 |
| 2019 | Dutch Indoor Championship | Apeldoorn | 2nd | 400 msh | 53.47 i |
| Dutch Championships | The Hague | 3rd | 400 m | 53.18 | |
| 2020 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 1st | 400 msh | 52.45 i |
| Dutch Championships | Utrecht | 1st | 200 m | 22.95 | |
| 2021 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 2nd | 400 msh | 51.21 i |
| Dutch Championships | Breda | 2nd | 200 m | 23.04 | |
| 2022 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 2nd | 400 msh | 51.20 i |
| Dutch Championships | Apeldoorn | 1st | 200 m | 22.74 | |
| 2023 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 2nd | 400 msh | 50.34 i |
| Dutch Championships | Breda | 3rd | 100 m | 11.36 | |
| 2024 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 2nd | 400 msh | 50.10 i |
| Dutch Championships | Hengelo | 4th | 100 m | 11.49 | |
| 2nd | 200 m | 22.72 | |||
| 2025 | Dutch Indoor Championships | Apeldoorn | 1st | 400 msh | 51.11 i |
| Dutch Championships | Hengelo | 1st | 200 m | 22.82 |
...met haar lengte van 1.82 meter...[...with her height of 1.82 metres...]
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World Indoor Champions in women's4 × 400 metres relay | |
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European Athletics Championships champions in women's4 × 400 metres relay | |
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