Stefan Nillessen at the 2024 European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | Dutch | |||||||||||||||||
Born | 2 January 2003 | |||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
Event | Middle distance | |||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||
Personal bests | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Stefan Nillessen (born 2 January 2003) is a Dutch middle-distance runner. In 2024, he won the Dutch Athletics Championships over 1500 metres, and also won over that distance at the Dutch Indoor Athletics Championships in 2025. He has competed at multiple major championships, including the 2024 Olympic Games. [1]
He was selected for the 1500 metres at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia. [2] He won gold in the 1500 metres at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland. [3]
He is one of a group of athletes coached by Tomasz Lewandowski. He signed a sponsorship deal with Nike in 2024. [4] He ran a personal best of 3:34.32 for the 1500 metres in Turku, Finland on 18 June 2024. [5]
He won the Dutch national title over 1500m at the Dutch Athletics Championships in Hengelo, in June 2024. [6] He competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics over 1500 metres and ran a personal best to qualify for the final. In the final he lowered his personal best to 3:30.75 to place ninth overall. [7]
Competing in Karlsruhe, Germany in February 2025, he won over 3000 metres in a Dutch indoor record time of 7:37.10. [8] He ran a personal best 3:52.70 for the indoor mile in Liévin, Belgium on 13 February 2025. [9] The following weekend, he won the Dutch national indoor title at the Dutch Indoor Athletics Championships over 1500 metres. [10] He was selected for the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, where he reached the final of the 3000 metres. [11] [12]
He ran a personal best of 1:45.09 for the 800 metres in Hengelo on 9 June 2025. [13] He improved his personal best on the mile to 3:49.02 in the Dream Mile at the 2025 Bislett Games, part of the 2025 Diamond League on 12 June 2025. [14] He competed over 1500 metres at the 2025 Meeting de Paris, running a Dutch national record time of 3:29.23. [15] He finished second in the 1500 metres at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships First Division in Madrid on 29 June 2025. [16] He retained his 1500m title at the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen, Norway running a time of 3:44.87. [17] He later also won a silver medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the same championships, finishing behind Maciej Megier of Poland, in a national U23 record of 8:20.48. [18]
He is from Groesbeek near Nijmegen. Nillessen comes from a famous running family from Groesbeek, known as "d’n Boes." [19] [20]