About a hundred athletes will embark on a completely enclosed track to qualify for the Olympics. They include six Dutch athletes: Bjorn Korman, Muhammad Ali, Roy Hornweg, Frank Futselaar, Benjamin de Haan and Jill Holtermann.

In the Netherlands it’s very exciting for the men who will be allowed to take part in Sapporo, Japan this summer. Abdi Nagy, the Dutch record holder of 2.06.17, certainly does, but Bart van Nunen (2.10.16), Bjorn Corman (2.11.07) and Frank Futselaar (2.11.30) also met the 2.11 limit. 30.

The Special Committee

The Netherlands may delegate three athletes. In addition to Nageeye, the other two are appointed by a special committee that monitors run times, but also performance evolution.

“We want to show in this day and age that we are doing everything we can to give athletes a chance to run a marathon,” says Jos Hermens, Director of Global Sports Communications. “In this case it is very special because it is about the chance to qualify for the Olympic Games.”

Jill Holterman chases the Olympic women’s maximum: 2.28.30. So far, only Andrea Delstra has managed to fall below that time.