Simon sprints to 5th national indoor title

February 20th 2005 - In the closest indoor hall to Holland (Gent, Belgium), a combination of tactics, patience and sprinting speed deliverd Simon the desired national title on the 3000m indoor. Simon does not focus on indoors at all, but when his training is going well, he uses it as a good test of his current shape. For such test, the competition was very good. Not only did his new training partner Dirk de Heer compete, but also the talented Dennis Licht from Apeldoorn. Both runners, who want to switch their careers to the steeple chase ultimately, have a good combination of endurance (close to 8 min on 3000m) and powerful sprinting speed (especially Dennis Licht).

"I started the race ahead of Dennis and Dirk, something I did not like. I wanted to run from behind them. When some other runners tried to take off, I let them go. The resulting gap made my main competitors nervous, I guess, and they jumped into it. That gave me the comfortable position behind their backs, where I had wanted to be", Simon said. During the rest of the race, Dennis Licht started to take the initiative, with ever increasing speed. Simon felt strong and displayed superb patience, waiting until half way the last lap before taking over and finishing in a blistering sprint. he won teh race in 8.22, just 0.25 seconds ahead of Licht and 4 seconds ahead of De Heer.

"These tow guys are willing to focus their careers on the steeple chase, and I think both are very talented runners who can do well at the event. Not only are their running skills good enough to be well under 8 minutes on the 3000m flat, they also have the dedication to take a long shot at the difficulties of the steeple chase. I will enjoy seeing them grow into it and hope I can inspire and support them on their journey!", Simon reported to journalists before the medal ceremony.

Race info

1. Simon Vroemen 8.22
2. Dennis Licht 8.22
3. Dirk de Heer 8.26

Pictures

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