7. DAFNE SCHIPPERS
This Dutch Heptathlete-turned-sprinter remains an enigma any day; it’s a daunting task trying to predict her next move as Schippers cannot be tagged a conventional athlete. Only in her second year of focusing on the sprints, the 23-year old has defied the odds time and time again to become one of the most consistent sprinters in recent times.
Many pundits have cited her involvement in the Heptathlon as the reason for her powerful strides and finishes, and it’s difficult not to agree. Schippers kicked off 2015 with GOLD in the European Indoor Championships and was one of the athletes tipped to make the podium in Beijing; she didn’t disappoint, finishing 2nd in the 100m behind Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in an NR of 10.81s. However, no one was prepared for the nerve-racking race that was to occur in the 200m.
Poised to go against Jamaica’s emerging sensation Elaine Thompson, Schippers produced one of the standout performances of the World Championships as she charged to the 200m title with a WL, Championship Record (CR), European Record and NR of 21.63s; a blistering run by all standards, thus erasing Marita Koch/Heike Drechsler’s European Record of 21.71s.
Her outstanding run propelled her to No.3 on the all-time list, while Thompson also made it to 5th place on the list with her time of 21.66s which got her the Silver medal. Schippers’ achievement saw her emerge a nominee for the highly coveted IAAF Athlete of the Year though Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba eventually won the award.
However, she could get some consolation from being named European athlete of the year alongside Greg Rutherford. Schippers is the first female athlete to retain this title, having won it 2014. Ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics, she said: “There is one medal to go and that is the gold medal – that is the goal for next year.”
