Champion Mindset: Key Traits & Habits

• Joost Smedema

  Editor Athletics in Tokyo

Ellen van Langen drove home about five years ago after a dinner with the Laros family and told her friend in the car: “Gosh, those Niels, that can sometimes be something.”

Laros has been twenty years old and has grown into one of the best 1,500-meter runners in the world. In the World Cup final of this afternoon (3.20 pm) a medal, perhaps even the gold after his convincing performances in the series and semi-finals.

Van Langen, Olympic champion in the 800 meters in 1992, has long known Laros’s parents. She trained with Sandra and Marcel, kept in touch after their career and saw Zo Niels and his brother Lars grow up from a distance.

“As a child they really enjoyed athletics, that starts as always cute. Then I realized that Niels was very good for his age. But I also thought: he is fifteen, let’s look at it for a while.”

That adolescent steamed at lightning speed to the world top. He already ran big finals at the 2023 World Cup (tenth) and the Olympic Games of Paris (sixth). This year he won three Diamond Leagues, including the final in Zurich, and the final classification.

Sebastian Coe, two -time Olympic champion in the 1,500 meters, also has Laros on his radar. The chairman of athletics federation World Athletics met him last year at a end -of -year gala. “He is very mature, you notice everything that he feels comfortable despite the fame and pressure that comes at him,” says Coe.

“He is not fooled by all the attention, even though it comes to his career quite early. He is only twenty, but realizes that he has to continue to work hard for it. The next ten years can become very interesting for him.”

It is surprising time and time again how calm Laros is. How supercools he analyzes his races, even when his body glows and shines with sweat after the impressive semi -final. He is looking for a place for the push and pulling behind him, looks around, turns on and wins his race.

“I felt good, not fantastic, but did what I had to do,” it sounds cool. While that is so difficult in the 1,500 meters, enthusiast Coe knows.

“This distance is like a play with four deeds. In the first round everyone tries to choose a position. Then the athletes find their place and you feel the tension increases. In round three it shoots in all directions then the climax follows. That structure makes it so beautiful.”

Van Langen: “Niels is calm and supercooled, those features help him in the 1,500 meters. Mentally and tactically he is very strong, he often makes the good choices in a race. Many athletes need time to get the distance in the fingers, but it seems as if he already had it.”

Coe: “Niels is a very interesting athlete, I think he owns all the ingredients. He has a fast 800 meter time and at his 1,500 meters you can’t do anything at all.”

Coe: “And he has a background in the cross, I always encourage young athletes to continue to focus on it. That provides a lot of power mentally and physically to get through the rounds.”

That diversity can be used on the 1,500 meters, Van Langen confirms, because something else is asked of him at a World Cup than with a Diamond League.

“There is often very fast in races with a hare (a pacemaker, ed.), But you don’t have it on a championship. It revolves much more about tactics. No matter how fast you are, you never go through the series on a tournament.”

That turned out. Jakob Benitas, four years ago Olympic champion, returned after an injury, but did not come through the series. Cole Hocker, good for gold last year in Paris, was disqualified in the semi -finals for handing out a push.

Competition is mainly from Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr, the World Champions of 2022 and 2023.

The advice that experience expert COE would give to Laros for his first final as a favorite for the title: “Do everything you have done in the past. Think of all weeks and years of hard training, think of what it has cost you to get here. And keep thinking clearly and logically under pressure.”

Whether he’s the biggest contender this afternoon? “Do you want me to Jinxen? I think he’s going very well. He has it in him, but it’s up to him to show if that will be gold, silver or bronze.”