Britt Weerman delivered a stunning performance on Sunday during the final day of the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul by winning the silver medal. The nineteen-year-old Dutch also equaled her Dutch record with a jump of 1.96 meters.
Weerman only had to give way to top favorite Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine, who conquered a height of 1.98 meters. Our compatriot reached 1.91 meters, 1.94 meters and 1.96 meters on her first attempt. Kateryna Tabashnyk, also from Ukraine, came third with a height of 1.94 meters.
The last Dutch medal in a title tournament in the high jump dates from almost fifty years ago. That was Ruud Wielart’s bronze at the 1977 European Indoor Championships.
Furthermore, only Lien Gisolf (silver at the 1928 Olympic Games), Nelly van Balen-Blanken (silver at the 1938 European Outdoor Championships) and Annemiek Bouma (bronze at the 1975 European Indoor Championships) gave the Netherlands tangible success at a European Championship, World Cup or Olympics.
The Netherlands now has three medals at the European Indoor Championships. On Saturday evening Femke Bol impressed in the 400 meters and in her wake Lieke Klaver finished second. The tournament in Istanbul ends tonight.
Weatherman drank a Red Bull to wake up
“It still has to sink in”, Weerman said afterwards. “I am naturally modest and down to earth and never that exuberant, but I do realize that this is really special and very bold.”
In the qualifications, Weerman jumped over a height of 1.91 meters, which was enough for a ticket to the final. “It went a lot better in the final than in the qualifications.”
“I was sharp from the start and you could see that in my jumps, even if it was in the morning. Usually I’m in bed until 10am, but now I had to get up at 6.45am. No, I didn’t drink coffee to wake up. I took a Red Bull.”
After a rest period, Weerman focuses on the outdoor season. “The European Championship under 23 will be an important goal and I also really want to jump at the World Cup in Budapest. For that I have to jump higher than 1.96, but that will happen really soon. My attempts at 1.98 in the final were my best ever. I felt like I was almost over it.”
A talented gymnast as a child
Weerman has made rapid progress in recent years. The teenager came second last year at the World Championships for athletes under the age of twenty. Barely two weeks later, the Drenthe finished fourth at the European Championships in Munich – on her debut at an international senior tournament.
Weerman was a talented gymnast as a child, until she switched to athletics at the age of thirteen due to an elbow injury. Initially she combined the high jump with the 100 meter hurdles.
“I’m still young, so these European championships are especially a very nice learning moment,” she said in the run-up to the tournament. “Although of course I have slightly more expectations than last year for the European Outdoor Championships. I’m not just going to Istanbul to enjoy myself. I want more now.”
The Dutch high jump record she equaled in Istanbul dated to early February, at her first competition of 2023 in Weinheim, Germany.
