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Niels Laros

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Niels Laros
Niels Laros during 2023 Gouden Spike
Personal information
Born (2005-04-17) 17 April 2005 (age 20)
Oosterhout, Netherlands
Sport
SportTrack and field, cross country
Event(s)
800 m, 1500 m, Mile, 2000 m, 3000 m, 5000 m
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Outdoor:
  • 800 m: 1:44.19 (2025)
  • 1000 m: 2:14.37 (2024, WU20R, NR)
  • 1500 m: 3:29.20 (2025, NR)
  • Mile: 3:45.94 (2025, NR)
  • 2000 m: 4:49.68 (2023, AU20B, NR)
  • 3000 m: 7:48.25 (2022, NR)
  • 5000 m: 13:10.86 (2025)
  • Indoor:
  • 800 m: 1:47.16 (2024, NU20R)
  • 3000 m: 7:29.49 (2025, NR)
  • Road:
  • 5 km: 13:26 (2024, AU20B, NR)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Netherlands
Diamond League
First place 2025 Zürich 1500 m
European Games
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Kraków-Małopolska 1500 m
European Cross Country Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Antalya U20 race
Silver medal – second place 2023 Brussels U20 race
Silver medal – second place 2024 Antalya U20 Team
European U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2025 Bergen 800m
Gold medal – first place 2025 Bergen 5000m
European U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Jerusalem 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2023 Jerusalem 5000 m
European U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Jerusalem 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2022 Jerusalem 3000 m

Niels Laros (pronounced [nils laːˈrɔs]; born 17 April 2005) is a Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. He is the world under-20 record holder in the 1000 metres with a time of 2:14.39 set on 7 July 2024, the European under-20 record holder in the 1500 metres with a time of 3:29.54 set on 6 August 2024, and holds the Dutch record and European under-20 record in the mile, with times of 3:45.94 and 3:48.93 respectively.

He is the 2022 European Under-18 Champion in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres and the 2023 European Under-20 Champion in the 1500 metres and 5000 metres. He was European Athletics Rising Star of the Year in 2024.

Early and personal life

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Niels Laros was born on 17 April 2005.[1] From Oosterhout, Laros' parents, Marcel Laros and Sandra Laros-Hofmans, were both runners. His brother Lars is a college athlete. He attended school at Oelbert Gymnasium in Oosterhout. He began to be coached by Tomasz Lewandowski in 2022.[2][3][4] He divided his final high school in two parts to allow him to participate in training camps with Lewandowski.[5]

Career

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2022

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In 2022, Laros set new U18 European 1500m and 3000m records which had previously been held by Jakob Ingebrigtsen.[6]

2023

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In May 2023, he lowered the Dutch national junior record in the 5000 meters to 13.23.01.[7] In June 2023 running in Nice, aged eighteen, he equalled the 22 year-old Dutch 1500m national record of 3:32.89 held by Gert-Jan Liefers.[8] He was selected to represent the Netherlands in the men's 1500m at the 2023 European Athletics Team Championships.[9] He finished third in the event, behind winner Mohamed Katir.[10] Selected for the 1500m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, he qualified for the final, in which he ran a new national record time of 3:31.25.[11] In September 2023, he set a new national record of 3:48.93 in the mile, at the Diamond League final in Eugene, Oregon.[12]

2024

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In February 2024, he set a new Dutch record and European U20 record for the 5km, running 13:26 on the road in Monaco.[13] In July 2024, he set a world under-20 record over 1000 metres of 2:14.37 in Hengelo.[14] He competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics over 1500 metres and ran a personal best and European U20 record to place sixth in the final.[15]

He won the U20 race at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey in December 2024.[16][17]

2025

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He set a Dutch record of 7:29.49 for the 3000 metres indoor in Liévin on 13 February 2025.[18] He won the 5000 metres competing for the Netherlands at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships First Division in Madrid on 29 June 2025.[19] On 5 July, he won the Bowerman Mile over Yared Nuguse in a Dutch record time of 3:45.94.[20]

He won the 5000 metres at the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen, Norway in 13:44.74.[21] In qualifying for the final of the 800 metres at the championships he also set a new personal best of 1:44.19.[22]

On 22 August, at the Brussels Diamond League, Laros won the 1500 metres over Phanuel Koech and Yared Nuguse, in a time of 3:30.58.[23] He set a new Dutch record of 3:29.20 to win the 1500m at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on 28 August.[24]

He was selected for the Dutch team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, to compete over 1500 metres and 5000 metres.[25] He was a finalist over 1500 metres, placing fifth. He also competed in the 5000 metres but withdrew from the race with an injury.[26][27]

Personal bests

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Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[1]

Personal best times
Event Time Location Date Record
800 metres 1:44.19 Bergen, Norway 18 July 2025
800 metres short track 1:47.16 i Toruń, Poland 6 February 2024 NU20R
1000 metres 2:14.39 Hengelo, Netherlands 7 July 2024 NR WU20R
1500 metres 3:29.20 Zurich, Switzerland 28 August 2025 NR
Mile 3:45.94 Eugene, United States 5 July 2025 NR
2000 metres 4:49.68 Brussels, Belgium 8 September 2023 NR AU20B
3000 metres 7:29.49 i Liévin, France 13 February 2025 NR
3000 metres short track NR
5000 metres 13:10.86 Nice, France 31 May 2025
5 kilometres road 13:26 Monaco City, Monaco 11 February 2024 NR AU20B

International competitions

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Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[1]

Representing the  Netherlands
Year Competition Venue Position Event Result Notes
2022 European U18 Championships Jerusalem, Israel 1st 1500m 3:49.99 CR
1st 3000m 8:11.49
2023 European Team Championships First Division Chorzów, Poland 3rd 1500m 3:37.59
European U20 Championships Jerusalem, Israel 1st 1500m 3:56.78
1st 5000m 14:11.82
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 10th 1500m 3:31.25 NR
European Cross Country Championships Brussels, Belgium 2nd U20 race 16:10
2024 European Championships Rome, Italy 23rd (h) 800m 1:46.62
Olympic Games Paris, France 6th 1500m 3:29.54 NR
European Cross Country Championships Antalya, Turkey 1st U20 race 14:07
2025 European Indoor Championships Apeldoorn, Netherlands 11th 3000m 7:57.18
European Team Championships First Division Madrid, Spain 1st 5000m 13:44.45
European U23 Championships Bergen, Norway 1st 800m 1:44.36
1st 5000m 13:44.74
World Championships Tokyo, Japan 5th 1500m 3:34.52
25th (h) 5000 m DNF

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Niels Laros". World Athletics. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  2. ^ Geula, Alex (16 June 2023). "Meet Niels Laros, The 18-Year-Old Dutch Sensation Who Has Run 1:45.8 for 800m and 13:23 for 5,000m". Lets Run. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  3. ^ Schelvis, Wouter (15 May 2022). "Loopbaan Niels Laros in stroomversnelling: 17-jarige tekent bij Nike, gaat naar Papendal en pakt record". bndestem.nl. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  4. ^ Schelvis, Wouter (11 July 2021). "Niels Laros hoopt dat familie hem ziet schitteren op de 3000 meter tijdens jeugd-EK". bndestem.nl.
  5. ^ "Rising Dutch Runner Niels Laros Sets New Middle-Distance Standards". Runnerstribe. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  6. ^ Dickinson, Marley (12 September 2022). "The 17-year-old Dutch runner who's quietly breaking Jakob Ingebrigtsen's junior records". Runningmagazine.ca. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Niels Laros breaks another record: 'But that's not what I'm doing it for'". bd.nl. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  8. ^ "18-year-old Niels Laros Equalls Dutch 1500m record with 3:32.89 in Nice". Watch Athletics. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Running talent Laros endures a pounding headache for top times". Welingelichtekringen. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Men's 1500m Results - 2023 European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division". Watch Athletics. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Men's 1500m Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". Watch Athletics. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  12. ^ Henderson, Jason (16 September 2023). "Ingebrigtsen out-duels Nuguse at Diamond League final". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Fastest ever European U20 5km for Laros while Almgren blazes to 59:23 half marathon". European Athletics. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Schilder, Laros and Bol boost home pride in Hengelo". World Athletics. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Men's 1500m Results - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Ingebritsen wins euro cross country title". BBC Sport. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  17. ^ "U20 favourites FitzGerald and Laros live up to expectations". European Athletics. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  18. ^ "Ingebrigtsen smashes world indoor 1500m and mile records in Lievin". World Athletics. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  19. ^ Broadbent, Chris (29 June 2025). "Youngsters Laros and Mononen win thrilling distance races at Madrid 2025". Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  20. ^ "A Big Underdog Comes Out of Nowhere to Steal the Show in the Men's Bowerman Mile". Runner's World. 5 July 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  21. ^ Broadbent, Chris (19 July 2025). "Training partners Laros and Nillessen land Dutch distance double in Bergen". European Athletics. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  22. ^ Mills, Steven (18 July 2025). "Pernici blazes to 1:44.06 championship record in 800m heats at Bergen 2025". European Athletics. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  23. ^ Mills, Steven (22 August 2025). "Laros kicks to decisive 1500m victory in Brussels". www.european-athletics.com. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  24. ^ "Big wins for Lyles and Weber, records for Warholm and Tinch as Diamond League Final concludes in Zurich". World Athletics. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  25. ^ "53 TeamNL atleten naar WK atletiek in Tokio". Atletiek.nl. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  26. ^ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  27. ^ Henderson, Jason (19 September 2025). "NIELS LAROS LIMPS OUT OF 5000M HEAT". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
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