Paulien Couckuyt

Last updated

Paulien Couckuyt
2022-08-18 European Championships 2022 - Women's 400 Metres Hurdles by Sandro Halank-038.jpg
Personal information
NationalityBelgian
Born (1997-05-19) 19 May 1997 (age 27)
Antwerp, Belgium
Sport
Sport Athletics
Events
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
European U23 Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Gävle 400m hurdles

Paulien Couckuyt (born 19 May 1997) is a Belgian track and field athlete who specializes in middle-distance running and 400 metres hurdles. [1]

Contents

Career

In July 2019 she won the gold medal in the women's 400 metres hurdles at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Gävle, Sweden posting a personal best of 56.17s. [2] [3] [4] In September Couckuyt ran another personal best in the 400 metres hurdles at the Belgian Athletics Championships posting a time of 55.46s and with this time, she qualified for the 2019 World Athletics Championships. [5] [6] In October, she represented Belgium at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, competing in women's 400 metres hurdles and women's 4 × 400 metres relay. [7] [8]

In May 2021, Couckuyt represented Belgium in the heats and final of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2021 World Athletics Relays in Chorzów, Poland where the Belgium team finished 7th in the final. [9] [10] Still in May, she ran a new personal best at the IFAM meeting in Oordegem, Belgium, and with a time of 55.37s met the qualification criterium for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. [11] [12] At the 2020 Summer Olympic Games she finished 3th in her round 1 heat, setting a personal best and new national record of 54.90s, [13] and proceeded to the semi-final where she finished 3th and was eliminated setting again a personal best and new national record of 54.47s. [14] She also ran in the heats and final of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay with the Belgium team finishing 7th in the final. [15]

In July 2022 she ran in final of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon finishing 6th. [16] [17] She also participated in the women's 400 metres hurdles reaching the semi-final. [18] Barely a month later, she ran in the heats of the women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, Germany but was eliminated in the heats. [19] In November 2022, while in training camp with Team Belgium, in Belek, Turkey, she incurred a serious injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of her left knee that required an operation and sidelined her for most of the 2023 season. [20] [21]

Having missed most of the 2023 season through injury, she spent spring and summer of 2024 chasing the automatic qualification mark of 54.85s for the women's 400 metres hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics. On the last day of the Olympic qualification period, 30 June, she ran a 54.94s at the Belgian Athletics Championships, still not meeting the automatic qualification mark, but the time proved good enough to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France via the World Athletics Rankings. [22] At the Olympics, she reached the semi-final stage. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">400 metres</span> Sprint running event

The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440-yard dash (402.336 m)—which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the "quarter-mile"—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerron Clement</span> American track and field athlete

Kerron Stephon Clement is a Trinidadian-born American track and field athlete who competes in the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter sprint. He held the indoor world record in the 400-meter sprint, having broken Michael Johnson's mark in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4 × 400 metres relay</span> Track and field relay event covering 1600 metres

The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. The first leg and the first bend of the second leg are run in lanes. Start lines are thus staggered over a greater distance than in an individual 400 metres race; the runners then typically move to the inside of the track. The slightly longer 4 × 440 yards relay, on an Imperial distance, was a formerly run British Commonwealth and American event, until metrication was completed in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marek Plawgo</span> Polish athletics competitor

Marek Plawgo is a Polish athlete. He mainly competes in the 400 meters hurdles, but he also starts in the 400 meters and the 4 x 400 meters relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Spencer (athlete)</span> American sprinter (born 1993)

Ashley Spencer is an American track and field athlete who competes in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles. In the 400m hurdles, she is the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist. In the 400m, she is the 2012 World Junior Champion and the 2016 World Indoor silver medalist. She is coached by 1996 Olympic bronze medalist Tonya Buford-Bailey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dylan Borlée</span> Belgian sprinter (born 1992)

Dylan Borlée is a Belgian sprinter who competes in the 400 metres. He is a member of the Borlée family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Barr (athlete)</span> Irish track and field athlete

Thomas Barr is an Irish track and field athlete who competes in the sprints and hurdles. He is probably best known for being a member of the winning European Championship Mixed 4x400 Relay team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sage Watson</span> Canadian athlete (born 1994)

Sage Heather Walker is a Canadian athlete specializing in the 400 metres hurdles. Competing internationally for Canada, she is the reigning Pan American champion in the 400 m hurdles, having also won Pan American medals in 2015 and 2019 as part of Canada's relay team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayomide Folorunso</span> Italian hurdler (born 1996)

Ayomide Temilade Oluwatoyosi Folorunso is an Italian athlete specialising in the 400 metres hurdles. She competed in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laviai Nielsen</span> British sprinter (born 1996)

Laviai Nielsen is a British sprinter specialising in the 400 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camille Laus</span> Belgian sprinter (born 1993)

Camille Laus is a Belgian athlete sprinter. She ran in the national team which placed 5th in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2019 World Championships, setting Belgian record of 3:26.58 sec in the heats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imke Vervaet</span> Belgian sprinter

Imke Vervaet is a Belgian athlete. She competed at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics as a 200 metres runner and as a member of the Belgian women's 4x400 metres and mixed 4x400 metres relay teams. She also participated at multiple World and European Athletics championships, indoor and outdoor, individually and as a member of the 4x400 metres relay teams. She was national champion in the women's 200 metres in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024.

The mixed 4 × 400 metres relay is a mixed-sex 4 × 400 metres relay in which teams field two men and two women. Since March 2022, team members have to run in the order man-woman-man-woman. It was introduced at the 2017 IAAF World Relays and was then held at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Qatar.

Shiann Salmon is a Jamaican track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 metres hurdles and 400 metres. She represented Jamaica at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, competing in women's 400 metres hurdles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Femke Bol</span> Dutch hurdler and sprinter

Femke Bol is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in hurdling and sprinting. She specialises in the 400 metres hurdles, where she is the 2023 World Champion, and in the 400 metres, where she is the 2024 World Indoor Champion and the short track world record holder. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team and the 2024 Olympic Champion with the Dutch mixed team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lieke Klaver</span> Dutch sprinter

Lieke Klaver is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in sprinting. She specializes in the 200 metres and in the 400 metres. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team and the 2024 Olympic Champion with the Dutch mixed team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naomi Van Den Broeck</span> Belgian sprinter (born 1996)

Naomi Van den Broeck is a Belgian sprinter. She represented Belgium at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo 2021, competing in women's 4 × 400 metres relay.

Helena Ponette is a Belgian sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. She competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a 400 metres runner and as a member of the Belgian women's 4x400 metres and mixed 4x400 metres relay teams. She also participated at multiple World and European Athletics championships, indoor and outdoor, individually and as a member of the 4x400 metres relay teams. She was national champion in the women's 400 metres in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathelijn Peeters</span> Dutch track and field athlete

Cathelijn Peeters is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in hurdling and sprinting and previously competed in the combined events and hammer throw. Peeters specializes in the 400 metres hurdles and in the 400 metres. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team and the 2024 Olympic Champion with the Dutch mixed team.

References

  1. "Paulien Couckuyt Athlete Profile". iaaf.org. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. "Reekie completes the middle distance double in Gävle". www.european-athletics.com. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  3. "EK Beloften: Paulien Couckuyt stoomt naar GOUD op 400m horden!". www.atni.be (in Dutch). 14 July 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  4. "Euro espoirs d'athlétisme: médaille d'or et record personnel pour Paulien Couckuyt sur 400 mètres haies". Le Soir (in French). 14 July 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  5. "Olympische limiet voor Hanne Claes, Paulien Couckuyt knalt naar WK-limiet". www.atni.be (in Dutch). 1 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  6. "Paulien Couckuyt qualifiée pour Doha sur 400m haies, Hanne Claes réussit le minimum pour les JO". La Libre Belgique (in French). 1 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  7. "400 METRES HURDLES WOMEN. IAAF World Athletics Championships, DOHA 2019". World Athletics . Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  8. "4x400 Metres Relay women. IAAF World Athletics Championships, DOHA 2019". iaaf.org. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  9. "4x400 Metres Relay women. World Athletics Relays, Chorzów 2019". World Athletics . Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  10. "Relais Mondiaux - Le relais mixte 4e, les Cheetahs 7e et les Tornados 8e". Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (in French). 2 May 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  11. "IFAM MAAKT REPUTATIE WAAR MET 8 NIEUWE LIMIETEN". www.atletiek.be (in Dutch). 30 May 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  12. "IFAM Oordegem: Paulien Couckuyt signe le minima pour les JO de Tokyo sur 400m haies". Le Soir (in French). 29 May 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  13. "400 METRES HURDLES WOMEN. OLYMPIC GAMES, Tokyo 2020". World Athletics . Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  14. "400 METRES HURDLES WOMEN. OLYMPIC GAMES, Tokyo 2020". World Athletics . Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  15. "The XXXII Olympic Games - Women's 4x400 Metres Relay". World Athletics . Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  16. "World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022 - 4x400 Metres Relay women". World Athletics . Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  17. "Belgian Tornados halen brons op 4x400 meter, Cheetahs zesde" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  18. "World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022 - 400 Metres hurdles women". World Athletics . Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  19. "European Athletics Championships - Olympiastadion, München (GER) - Women's 400 Metres Hurdles". World Athletics . Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  20. "Paulien Couckuyt maanden buiten strijd door zware knieblessure". www.atni.be (in Dutch). 18 December 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  21. "Catastrophe pour Paulien Couckuyt, opérée des ligaments croisés !". La DH Les Sports+ (in French). 18 December 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  22. "Road to Paris 24". World Athletics . Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  23. "WOMEN'S 400M HURDLES SEMI-FINAL RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 13 September 2024.