Happy & Healthy

4 X FACTS ABOUT DAFNE SCHIPPERS AND HER RIO SCHEDULE

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With two gold medals in her pocket from the European Championship in her home country, our Dafne has had a good warm-up. On to the Olympic Games. She trains hard; she is not the fastest in the world for nothing. And if you want to be really cool with your friends, you could tell them about her techniques and training. Here, you have it:

1. When training for sprints, Dafne always divides the training into four parts. Let's take the 100 meters as an example.

First part: 0 to 30 (meters) – this is the beginning, so the start phase

Second part: 30 to 60 meters – in this part, Dafne's speed is determined as she goes from a bent position to upright

Third part: 60 to 100 meters – here the speed must be maintained (better said: accelerated)

Last part: the finish – training when you need to bend exactly as you cross the finish line

2. Because Dafne is quite tall (1.79 m), the first part (the start phase of sprints) is the most challenging part. To ensure that she doesn't build up a disadvantage against her opponents (who are often much shorter), her tip is to always take the time to study their techniques well in advance. This gives her a clearer overview of what she might or might not need to do.

3. Another tip from Dafne: just before the finish, don't lean forward too early. That way, you won't maintain your pace. You need to manage your energy wisely. It might be about a few milliseconds, but those are the most important if you want to beat your competition. Not only in terms of pace but also mentally.

4. Dafne runs in very special shoes from Nike. The soles consist of razor-sharp spikes, giving her good grip on the floor.

Below you can see Dafne's schedule in Rio. Are you setting your alarm?

Friday, August 12: 100m, first round: 22:40 (BR) 03:40 (NL)
Saturday, August 13: 100m, semi-final: 21:00 (BR) 02:00 (NL)
100m, final: 22:35 (BR) 03:35 (NL)

Monday, August 15: 200m, heats: 09:35 (BR) and 14:35 (NL)

Tuesday, August 16: 200m, semi-final: 22:00 (BR) 03:00 (NL)

Wednesday, August 17: 200m, final: 22:30 (BR) 03:30 (NL)

Thursday, August 18: 4x100m relay, first round: 11:20 (BR) 16:20 (NL)

Friday, August 19: 4x100m relay, final: 22:15 (BR) 03:15 (NL)