Rijen, March 1, 2008 - Women 1993-1994

The start of the race over 2100 metres for women of 1993-1994 is busy. Unlikely the women of 1995 and 1996, the drafts of 1993 and 1994 will depart together. They line up with no less than 68, more than all of the drafts of 1989-1992 together in the races of tomorrow. On the average, they will not run slower than the vast majority of women that will start later today in the 35+ categories, and tomorrow in all of the races of women born from 1973 through 1992. The will run the same 2100 metres as the short cross country of senior women, so we can even compare. This may be the most interesting female race of the entire weekend, and this is just the left wing of the crowd.

This is the left center, with the favorites Jip Vastenburg (1001), Tirza van der Wolf (1009), and Marlin van Hal (1000). Van Hal is defending the title she took in Wageningen in 2007, and won the Mastbos race in Breda seven weeks ago. Van der Wolf was in 2007 the best of the 1994 draft over 1000 metres and 1000 metres steeple chase. Vastenburg was the second best of 1993-1994 in the major cross countries in Tilburg and Soest, both behind Juul Lavrijsen, who has deceided to run with the women of 1991-1992 tomorrow. Vastenburg took a surprising silver medal over 1500 metres at the indoor nationals for women of 1991-1992 two weeks ago in Ghent in 4.49, taking more than 26 seconds off her best so far. Van Hal made 4.50 outdoors in 2007, so that equals about up between the two. Van Hal, by the way, is not the only one that won a gold medal last year in Wageningen. Vastenburg was facing silver behind Heleen Wildoër (1070, not on this picture) in the race of women born in 1994, until she came back with a great long kick and victory.

This is the center of the large group. We should keep an eye on Marijke Brilman (1017), and perhaps on Anne-Lique Weeren (1007) as well. Since the beginning of 2008, they are teammates at Triathlon Track Club in Amersfoort. Weeren won the 1994 race in Tilburg 2006, ahead of Vastenburg and Brilman, but decided to switch to javelin throwing. She did not train for running for almost a year. Three weeks ago in Amersfoort, she came back to beat Vastenburg by one second, and was in turn beaten by Brilman by only one second. Brilman was the overall third Dutch athlete of 1993-1994 in Tilburg in november 2007, behind Lavrijsen and Vastenburg, but ahead of Van Hal and the others. Her sister Esther took silver in the 1995 group less than 1½ hour ago. Van Hal and Vastenburg will be tough to beat this time, but can she win another piece of heavy metal for her family? Last year in Wageningen, she took the silver of the 1994 draft, behind Vastenburg, but just ahead of Wildoër.

...and not until now have we reached the far right of this group. We can clearly see two rows that have formed...

Right after the gunshot, we should never expect these young women to be friendly to each other, when it is so crowded. When reaction times are about equal, those with the stronger elbows (previous picture) and arms (this picture) do usually take off first.

Remember, a wind of about 7-8 Beaufort is blowing straight into the faces of these ladies.

After some 150 metres, they reach a point where the course is suddenly narrowed by more than 85 percent, so it is high time to use the arms again.

This is our point: the course has actually become too narrow, and the slippery parts make it treacherous.

Vastenburg and Van Hal have taken the lead, while Brilman, for instance, has lost costful ground already. Pascale Maas (1066), winner of the Limbra tour, is taking a comfortbale 4th position, shoulder to shoulder with Cindy Embregts (1039, pink shirt). Behind her is Pauliena Rooijakkers (1029), second in the Limbra tour. Irene van Lieshout (1034) is a teammate of Van Hal, right next to Van der Wolf. Behind Van Lieshout, but ahead of Brilman, is Fieke Wolters (1036).

Brilman is running in place 10 or so, with Weeren right behind her, partially hidden behind Saskia Weinans (1016), and Shanice Stephenson (1002). Others in this group are Larissa Schut (1033) , Sanne Vlutters (1021), and Mirthe Overkamp (1026).

Aly Boersma (1035) and Laura Hoogers (1060) defeated Van Hal in Tilburg, but could not maintain their shape, probably due to injuries. The sister of Boersma, Wilmke, starts in the 1991-1992 race tomorrow, as one of the candidates for siver or bronze. The gold medal in that category is likely to be taken by Maureen Koster. Annemiek van de Velde (1031) is almost entirely "obscured" by Boersma on this picture.

In these echelons we spot, among others, Judi Becx (1018), Michelle van der Meer (1053), Elif Erken (1027), Anna Wientjens (1032), Amy Koch (1003), and Elsemiek Joosten (1050). Wientjens has a twin sister named Laura, who did well in November and December, but did not make any notable appearances since the turn of the year.

The girl with the cap is Anniek de Jong (1027). Behind her we spot, for example, Rianne van Slooten (1055), her teammate Anouk van den Ouweland (1056), Marlijn van der Mei (1024), and Winne Vos (1043). Van Slooten is the elder of four sisters from Valkenswaard, that have taken part in these championships today.

Cloë de Jong (1059) and Van den Ouweland make Lotte van Neer (1008) and Shannon Lakerveld (1012, white cap) as good as invisible for the eye of our camera.

In these rows we encounter Marije Severijnen (1005), Sharon Raemaekers (1067, behind Severijnen), Sanne van Mourik (1006), Daniëlle Flipse (1000), Rebecca Atteveld (1019), Marije Peters (1038), and Anne Luijten (1030).

We wish the course to be just a little bit wider, so that it would be easier to identify those we have not mentioned, but still are on these pictures. The members of the jury would have a less harder job, too.

Here we find Rozemarijn van den Bosch (1064), Wieke Philippart (1069), Dayenne Roberts (1044), and Aline Kootstra (1047).

This fourspan is led by Tara Schuilwerve. The others are Carla van Heck (1028), Herlinde Roke (1048), and hardly visible Manon Hunck (1071).

Iris Etman is slightly ahead of this little group with Elanor van Miltenburg (1058), Tess Ackermans (1061), Susan Dijkstra (1062), and Hilde Doeleman (1065). Like many others, Ackermans is having trouble with her bib, that turns out way too large under these stormy conditions.

Vastenburg has carried the full load of the race for most of the time, especially when the leading group was facing the wind. Half a loop ago, in the open area that is often used for cross country on motorbikes, she fell on the slippery course. The race had turned out to be way too short to shake Van Hal off.

This is the horror scenario Vastenburg must have remembered from the nationals of 2006 for athletes born in 1993 en 1994. These nationals were held in the olympic stadium of Amsterdam on the third of September. There was a lot of wind blowing from the southwest. In the 3rd and fastest race over 1000 metres for women of 1993, front runner Juul Lavrijsen could not shake off Van Hal, and found her efforts rewarded with silver. Vastenburg, who finished 5th overall in the 1994 group, witnessed that race, so she knew what she had to do in Rijen 18 months later. It did not help, for the conditions in Rijen were even worse for those that would have to set the pace.

Like the track race of 2006, Van Hal does not want to take any chances with a short sprint, and makes her move with some 600 metres to go, with the wind in her back.

The suprise action of Van Hal seems to have caused a virtual standstill of Vastenburg, for she is taken in quickly by Van Lieshout, Embregts, Van der Wolf, and Brilman.

Maas has been way too strong for Rooijakkers in almost all of the races of this winter, but now, on Doomesday, she has to let her go.

Weeren has found out that she should have started her preparations a couple of months sooner, but is still doing well. Can she hold on to place ten?

Even De Jong, Van der Mei, Van Mourik, and Hannah Regeer (1041) do still have a top-10 ranking within their reach.

Van Hal has widened the gap with the Vastenburg group, but wishes the race was over. She has still 300 metres to go, and face the storm on the home straight.

Vastenburg has done her very best, but has not lost to just somebody. Van Hal has an excellent coach, 7-time national cross country champion Tonnie Dirks. This Brabançon always gets the best out of Van Hal when the need is most urgent. Vastenburg knows that she will will confine with her second silver in two weeks. Her next opportunity to reach for gold will come by the end of May, at the 1989-1992 nationals in Groningen. And what the hell, she just turned fourteen on Good Friday, 20 days after this race.

The first concern of Vastenburg right now, is to hold on to the silver. Brilman and Van Lieshout are eager to leave her without any heavy metal. That is the ordeal that Van der Wolf is facing already in the background.

We had no time to make it to the endzone in time to welcome the ladies back home (too many barriers to be taken), so we may just as well tell you the outcome. Van Hal won in 8.25. Vastenburg backfired the challenge of Brilman and Van Lieshout, and firmly held on to the silver. She finished in 8.29, one second ahead of Brilman, two ahead of Van Lieshout, who has (to our knowledge) never before come this close to the victory platform of such a strong competition. Van der Wolf took 5th in 8.39, so she lost 7-8 seconds in the last few hundreds of metres. The only thing we can think of that caused this to happen, is that she his slipped and fallen somewhere in the mud or water.

Maas is still in contention for sport 8, but will have to hand it over to her companion Van de Velde.

Even Boersma (9th) and Regeer (10th) will finish ahead of Maas. Regeer is not yet visible, she is still running some ten metres behind De Jong, who in turn is about to outsprint Weeren for place 12.

We have to wait quite a while (over a minute), to see Wildoër pass by. Last year in Wageningen, like we already told, she almost took the national title for women of 1994, but got outkicked by Vastenburg, and Brilman eventually. Now she is taking an anonymous rank 42, just ahead of Van der Put (in the background), Van der Lee (just disappearing from this picture), Van Slooten, and Stephenson.

Kootstra, Philippart, and Raemaekers are heading for ranks 48, 49, and 50. Rather innocent looking Philippart is about to nót get caught wearing an 'unlawful' outfit. The fourteen year old athlete of Sprint Breda must have laughed out loudly, when they disqualified Greg van Hest next day for not wearing the proper outfit of Tilburg Road Runners. The proper outfit of Sprint is all black with some yellow ornaments. Van Hest wore an all black outfit without the yellow things, so he looked more like a sprinter than a road runner. He knew he would never get away with that, since nearby Tilburg delivered an awful lot of judges. So did equally nearby Breda, but no one wanted to make himself impopular by disqualifying such a nice little girl on such silly charges.

Philippart is showing some excellent business sense here. She is not only advertising the maker of her shirt, leggings, and probably her spikes, but also the new logo of the cloner of brands of printer ink in nearby Etten-Leur. Just have a closer look at the right side of her blue shirt. We are not as naive as to believe that Philippart is naive enough to not know what she is doing. The Asics thing may have come inevitably with with the sportswear, but the WeCare4 thing can never have been coincidence. Philippart has outsmarted all of us, and deserves taking the credit for it. The term to file a protest to the chief judges expired half an hour after she crossed the finish line on March 1, 2008, but no one should bother to level it up by filing such silly protests in the future, unless such persons want to make themselves "famous", too. In that case, they will find our humble site at their disposal. If we can get hold of the name(s) of the person(s) that filed the complaint that caused the disqualification of Van Hest, we will certainly inform you, take our word for it. That takes care of the promised comments on Van Hest's disqualification, as well.

		Women 93-94, 2100 m
1	1045	Marlin van Hal	1993	De Keien	8.25
2	1001	Jip Vastenburg	1994	GAC Hilversum	8.29
3	1017	Marijke Brilman	1994	Triathlon	8.30
4	1034	Irene van Lieshout	1993	De Keien	8.31
5	1009	Tirza van der Wolf	1994	SC Reeuwijk	8.39
6	1039	Cindy Embregts	1993	Loopteam Ed Sligchers	8.46
7	1029	Pauliena Rooijakkers	1993	't Jasper Sport	8.47
8	1031	Annemiek van de Velde	1993	Delta Sport	8.50
9	1035	Aly Boersma	1993	Horror	8.52
10	1041	Hannah Regeer	1994	Leiden Atletiek	8.55
11	1057	Pascale Maas	1994	PSV	8.56
12	1023	Anniek de Jong	1993	AV Heerenveen	8.57
13	1007	Anne-Lique Weeren	1994	Triathlon	8.58
14	1024	Marlijn van de Mei	1994	AV Heerenveen	9.01
15	1021	Sanne Vlutters	1993	TION	9.03
16	1006	Sanne van Mourik	1994	Delta Sport	9.04
17	1025	Linda de Vlieger	1994	Delta Sport	9.04
18	1032	Anna Wientjens	1994	Spado	9.08
19	1018	Judi Becx	1994	Attila	9.10
20	1026	Mirthe Overkamp	1994	Hanzesport	9.10
21	1027	Elif Erken	1993	Seven Hills Running	9.10
22	1038	Marije Peters	1993	Seven Hills Running	9.12
23	1046	Savanna Warmink	1993	ACO Van Elderen	9.12
24	1019	Rebecca Atteveld	1993	Atverni	9.12
25	1060	Laura Hoogers	1993	General Michaelis	9.13
26	1015	Daphne Everhard	1994	TION	9.15
27	1050	Elsemiek Joosten	1994	't Jasper Sport	9.15
28	1008	Lotte van Neer	1994	Unitas	9.17
29	1036	Fieke Wolters	1993	Nijmegen Atletiek	9.18
30	1043	Winne Vos	1993	Daventria	9.19
31	1037	Tara Smid	1994	AAV'36	9.19
32	1044	Dayenne Roberts	1993	AVON	9.19
33	1056	Anouk van den Ouweland	1994	AVV	9.20
34	1000	Daniëlle Flipse	1994	AV'56	9.22
35	1016	Saskia Weinans	1994	Atletico'73	9.24
36	1020	Dionne Deemter	1993	Spurt'88	9.26
37	1030	Anne Luijten	1994	AV'40	9.27
38	1005	Marije Severijnen	1994	Passaat	9.28
39	1033	Larissa Schut	1994	Spado	9.29
40	1053	Michelle van der Meer	1994	Isala'96	9.32
41	1052	Robin Flipsen	1994	Atledo	9.33
42	1004	Heleen Wildoër	1994	SAV	9.35
43	1042	Anne van der Put	1994	Leiden Atletiek	9.35
44	1049	Susanne van der Lee	1993	ACW'66	9.36
45	1055	Rianne van Slooten	1993	AVV	9.38
46	1002	Shanice Stephenson	1994	Almere'81	9.39
47	1012	Shannon Lakerveld	1994	AV Aalsmeer	9.47
48	1047	Aline Kootstra	1994	ACO Van Elderen	9.52
49	1069	Wieke Philippart	1994	Sprint	9.56
50	1012	Sharon Raemaekers	1994	AV Weert	9.58
51	1051	Tara Schuilwerve	1993	AV'56	10.00
52	1071	Manon Hunck	1993	Scorpio	10.01
53	1010	Kaylee van de Par	1993	Spiridon	10.03
54	1003	Anya Koch	1993	PAC	10.04
55	1061	Tess Ackermans	1994	Scorpio	10.04
56	1011	Kim de Ruijter	1993	Attila	10.05
57	1059	Cloë de Jong	1993	General Michaelis	10.06
58	1048	Herlinde Roke	1993	ACO Van Elderen	10.15
59	1028	Carla van Heck	1994	Zuidwal	10.17
60	1064	Rozemarijn van den Bosch	1994	Fortuna	10.28
61	1013	Inge Honcoop	1994	Spiridon	10.39
62	1040	Elke Brouwer de Koning	1994	Leiden Atletiek	10.52
63	1058	Elanor van Miltenburg	1994	Attila	10.53
64	1065	Hilde Doeleman	1994	Delta Sport	10.59
65	1062	Suzan Dijkstra	1994	Scorpio	10.59
66	1022	Iris Etman	1993	Attila	11.00
67	1063	Lisa Smit	1994	Scorpio	12.15
68	1054	Leanne van Krevelen	1994	Atledo	12.51