Dutch runner Diane van Es

Diane van Es is a Dutch athlete specializing in middle- and long-distance running, who is one of the top talents in the country and European Athletics. Her biggest achievements are the 10,000m silver at the 2024 Roma European Athletics Championships, as well as a 5,000m bronze at the 2021 Tallinn European Athletics U23 Championships. She holds the European record for the 5km road run and the Dutch record for the 10km road run. Her accomplishments include winning four national titles in the 5,000m and 10km events.

Diane Gabriella van Es was born on March 22, 1999, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. She started in athletics at an early age and focused on running.

Diane van Es started her competitive career in 2013, competing in 1,500m and 3,000m at the Eindhoven Dutch U18 Championship. She finished 7th in the both final, but showed her great talent and skills.

In 2014, she won her first junior honors, winning the 1,500m bronze at the Amsterdam Dutch Junior Championships and 3,000m bronze at the Amsterdam Dutch U18 Championships. Meanwhile, Diane van Es made her debut at the senior national championships, finishing 8th in 3,000m at the Apeldoorn Dutch Indoor Championships, as well as 5th in 5,000m at the Amsterdam Dutch Championships.

Diane van Es made her breakthrough in 2015, winning the 3,000m gold at the Tbilisi 13th European Youth Olympic Festival. During the season, she won the 3,000m gold at the Breda Dutch U18 Championships and the 1,500m silver at the Breda Dutch U20 Championships. She also triumphed in 3,000m at the Leiria ECCC Junior Group B, Bergen op Zoom Dutch Club Championships, and Lokeren Grote Prijs.

In 2016, Diane van Es started the season, competing in 1,500m at the Apeldoorn Dutch Indoor Championships, but failed to overcome the heats. In 1,500m, she won the silver at the Bergen op Zoom Dutch Club Championships and finished 8th at the Amsterdam Dutch Championships, before winning another gold at the Dronten Dutch U18 Club Championships.

Diane van Es kept her good form in 2017, winning the 1,500m gold at the Apeldoorn Dutch U20/U18 Indoor Championships and 3,000m silver at the Den Haag Dutch Club Championships. At the Nijmegen Global Athletics she competed in 5,000m and finished 12th, while the at Huizingen Flanders Cup she won the 1,500m gold. Diane van Es smashed the competition at the Vught Dutch U20/U18 Championships, winning the 1,500m silver and 5,000m gold, before competing at the Grosseto European U20 Championships, finishing 12th in 3,000m.

In 2018, the Dutch runner finished 10th in 10km road at the Schoorl Groet Uit Run and won the 1,500m and 5,000m gold medals at the Emmeloord Dutch U20 Championships. She won the 3,000m gold at the Zoetermeer Dutch Club Championships and Castellon ECCC U20 Group A, but also finished 29th at the Tilburg 25th SPAR European Cross Country U20 Championships.

Diane van Es won her first national honor in 2019, winning the bronze at the Dutch 10,000m Championships. She also won the 3,000m gold at the Breda Dutch Club Championships and finished 13th at the Gavle European U23 Championships in 5,000m. At the Den Haag Dutch Championships, she again missed the honors by finishing 5th in 5,000m. By the end of the season, she finished 12th at the 26th SPAR European Cross Country U23 Championships and won the bronze at the Groningen 4 Miles.

In 2020, Diane van Es made another great achievement by winning the bronze at the Gouden Spike Dutch 10,000m Championships and won her first national title at the Utrecht Dutch Championships in 5,000m. Meanwhile, she won the 8km road running gold at the Midwinter Marathon Centraal Beheer Acht.

Diane van Es made a great season in 2021, winning the 5,000m bronze at the 2021 Tallinn European Athletics U23 Championships. Moreover, during the season she won the 3,000m gold at the Cluj-Napoca European Athletics Team Championships First League and competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 5,000m, but finished 12th in the heats and did not qualified for the finals. Diane van Es won the 1,500m silver at the Breda Dutch Championships and the 3,000m bronze at the Apeldoorn Dutch Indoor Championships, as well as 1,500m gold at the Ter Specke Bokaal. She also finished 5th at the cross country event at the International Warandecross Tilburg.

In 2022, Diane van Es won the 5,000m gold at the prestigious BoXX United Manchester World Athletics Continental Tour and another national title at the Apeldoorn Dutch Championships in 5,000m. She also made debut at the Diamond league at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, finishing 12th in 3,000m. At the Munich European Athletics Championships, Diane van Es finished 12th in 5,000m, while at the International Warandecross Tilburg won the cross country bronze.

Diane van Es competed at another big international forum in 2023, finishing 13th at the Budapest World Athletics Championships in 10,000m. Meanwhile, during the season, she won the gold at the Groet uit Schoorl Run Dutch 10km Championships, setting a national record, and the 10,000m silver at the Track Festival in Walnut, California. She also finished 14th in 3,000m at the Diamond League’s Oslo Bislett Games.

In 2024, Diane van Es made her biggest achievement so far by winning the 10,000m silver at the 2024 Roma European Athletics Championship. During the season, she won another national title, triumphing in 10,000m at the Hengelo Dutch Championships and qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics, finishing 16th in the final.

Diane van Es made fantastic result in the beginning of 2025 season by finishing second at the Monaco Run 5km road to set an European record of 14:39 min.

Diane van Es in numbers

1x European Athletics Championships silver medalist
1x European Athletics Team Championships First League gold medalist
1x European Athletics U23 Championships bronze medalist
3x National champion
Personal best: 4:09.74 min (1,500m), 8:49.55 min (3,000m), 15:07.52 min (5,000m), 30:57.24 min (10,000m), 14:39 min (5km road), 30:29 min (10km road)

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