Famous names and young talents in the Spike Athletics competition

(Photo: Dagmar Arts)

Leiden, June 4, 2023, 9:26 AM By the editors

On Saturday 10 June, the Netherlands’ strongest distance runners will not only try to outdo each other at the Leiden Athletic track, but also compete with top international athletes who excel in other fields. Then, an expert jury awards the golden spike to the athlete who performed best on that day.


Leiden-based Frank Wotselaar, Stan Nesten, Philemon Tesvu and Noah Schott are fighting for gold in the 10,000m event. A foursome can go down in 28 minutes, but in NK it’s not just the last time that counts, but especially the standings. In the women’s category, Marcella Herzog is defending her title, with Jennifer Jolickers as a formidable contender.


Participants cannot win a gold medal in the other parts, but they can win a gold medal. Former Czech World Champion (Indoor) Pavel Maslak competes in his favorite 400m event. Melissa Boekelmann (shot put) and Lizanne Scholl (javelin throw) also proved that they can handle the high level, having already taken the trophy with them.


talent
Young talents are given a lot of space in Leiden every year. The ‘best future players’ get their teeth into the European Under-23 or Under-20 Championships. Junior Joas van Hellemondt of Leiden Athletics has previously run this far in the 110m hurdles, but is now preparing for the European Championships in front of his home crowd.

The main program for the Golden Spike starts at 6 pm and runs until nine. The ticket costs 7 euros. A portion of the proceeds is intended for Spieren voor Spieren and Ronald McDonaldhuis Leiden.

Leiden Sports