Already at the age of six Van den Akker became interested in athletics, although she loved riding, tennis and streetdance as well. When she was twelve years old she started competing in the heptathlon, because she liked doing all the events. Gradually her sprinting talent came to the surface, however and in 2002 she was present at the World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, finishing a good 6th and 7th in the 100 and 200 metres respectively.
The same relay formation as in the preceding year participated at the Summer Olympics in Athens. They were however eliminated in the series due to a mistake in the changing area.
In April 2007 Van den Akker, who became Dutch 100 metres champion in 2004, announced her withdrawal from athletics. She claimed no longer to be able to cope with the continuous series of foot injuries, since all kinds of treatments had brought no improvements.
Merlene Joyce Ottey is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978, and continued to do so for 24 years, before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012. She is ranked fourth on the all-time list over 60 metres (indoor), eighth on the all-time list over 100 metres and sixth on the all-time list over 200 metres. She is the current world indoor record holder for 200 metres with 21.87 seconds, set in 1993. She was named Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year 13 times between 1979 and 1995.
Kim Gevaert is a former sprint athlete and Olympic champion from Belgium.
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie is a former Bahamian sprinter who specialised in the 100 and 200 metres. Ferguson-McKenzie participated in five Olympics.
Abiodun Adesola "Abi" Oyepitan is a British sprint athlete, who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. She won the 100 m at the 2001 Summer Universiade and at the 2002 Commonwealth Games she took a bronze medal with the 4 × 100 m team. She became one of Britain's best female sprinters, becoming the first British female to reach an Olympic final in a sprint event since Kathy Cook. However, following her performance in the 2004 Athens Olympics, she suffered an injury, which all but brought her career to a halt. She made a winning comeback in 2010, competing in the Diamond League and winning a silver medal for England at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in the 200 m and a gold medal when she anchored the 4 × 100 m relay team to a win.
Aleen May Bailey is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 m.
Muriel Hurtis-Houairi is a French track and field athlete. She came to prominence in 2002 when she won the 200 m gold medals at both the European Indoor Championships and the European Athletics Championships. The following year she added the World Indoor title and won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and a gold in the 4×100 metres relay with France.
Troy Douglas is a former Dutch sprinter. Originally competing for Bermuda, he finished second at the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the 200 metres event, but he changed nationality to the Netherlands in 1998. For Bermuda he participated at the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics, reaching the semi-finals on the 200 metres in 1996 as well as the semi-finals on the 400 metres in 1992 and 1996. He finished 5th in the final of the 200 metres at the 1991 Pan American Games.
Patrick Petrus Marinus van Balkom is a former Dutch sprinter. Together with Caimin Douglas, Timothy Beck and Troy Douglas he won a bronze medal in 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. With this same team he also participated at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but they were eliminated in the series due to a mistake in the changing area.
Timothy Beck is a Dutch sprinter. Together with Caimin Douglas, Patrick van Balkom and Troy Douglas he won a bronze medal in 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. With the same team he also participated at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but by a mistake in the changing area they did not advance from the series.
Caimin Christian Douglas is a Dutch Antillean sprinter.
Churandy Thomas Martina is a Dutch sprinter. He originally placed second in the 200 metres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but was later disqualified due to a lane violation. Martina secured four and two individual top-five finishes at the Summer Olympics and World Athletics Championships respectively. He was the 100 metres 2007 Pan American Games champion representing the Netherlands Antilles and claimed three individual titles at the Central American and Caribbean Games. He won gold medals in the 200 m and 100 m at the 2012 and 2016 European Athletics Championships respectively.
Helina Jacomina (Jacqueline) Poelman is a former Dutch sprinter.
Élodie Ouédraogo is a retired Belgian sprinter of Burkinabé descent, who specializes in the 200 metres and 400 m hurdles. An Olympic gold medalist, her personal best time in the 200 m is 23.11 seconds, achieved in July 2004 in Brussels, while her personal best in the 400 m hurdles is 55.20, achieved at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Ouédraogo is also the joint third-fastest Belgian woman after Kim Gevaert and Olivia Borlée and equalling Nancy Callaerts with her best 100 metres time of 11.40. Her 200 metres best ranks her fourth amongst Belgian women after Gevaert, Borlée and Hanna Mariën. Her 400 m hurdles best places her as the second-fastest Belgian woman over the distance, after Ann Mercken.
Anna Maria 'Annemarie' Kramer is a former Dutch sprinter. She started with athletics at the age of twelve and soon found out that she had a special talent for the sprinting events. She was a five-time Dutch sprinting champion.
Pascal van Assendelft is a former Dutch sprinter. She started her career in athletics at the age of thirteen and was to become a sprinting athlete, competing at European and Olympic level.
Jamile Samuel is a Dutch athlete sprinter, who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. She won three bronze medals at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, thus establishing herself as the third-fastest female runner under the age of 20 in the world. She won a gold medal with the Dutch women's 4 × 100 m relay team at the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam.
Dafne Schippers is a Dutch retired track and field athlete who competed in sprinting and the combined events. She holds the European record in the 200 metres with a time of 21.63 seconds, making her the sixth-fastest woman of all time at this distance. She also holds the Dutch records in the 100 metres and long jump, and shares the Dutch records in the 60 metres indoor and 4 × 100 metres relay.
Wilhelmina Catharina Maria Martina "Wilma" van Gool is a Dutch former sprinter, two-time Olympian, silver medalist in the European Championships and Universiade, Dutch national champion, and 1969 Dutch Female Athlete of the Year.
Raymond Alfred Heerenveen is a retired Dutch Antillean/Dutch sprinter. He competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in the 400 metres event, but failed to reach the final.
Naomi Sedney is a Dutch sprinter. She has been most successful as the anchor of the Dutch Relay team and is co-holder of the national record 4 x 100 m relay. In 2022 her younger sister Zoë Sedney joined her in the Dutch Relay team.
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