| Niels Laros | |
| Sport: | Track and field, cross country |
| Event: | 800m, 1500m, Mile, 2000m, 3000m, 5000m |
| Birth Date: | 17 April 2005 |
| Birth Place: | Oosterhout, Netherlands |
Niels Laros (in Dutch; Flemish nils laːˈrɔs/; born 17 April 2005) is a Dutch middle and long-distance runner. In 2022, he became European under-18 champion over 3000m and 5000m. In 2023, he set a new Dutch senior record in the 1500 metres.[1]
From Oosterhout, Laros' parents, Marcel Laros and Sandra Laros-Hofmans, were both runners. His brother Lars is a college athlete. He attended school at Oelbert Gymnasium in Oosterhout. He began to be coached by Tomasz Lewandowski in 2022.[2] [3] [4] He divided his final high school in two parts to allow him to participate in training camps with Lewandowski.[5]
In 2022, Laros set new U18 European 1500m and 3000m records which had previously been held by Jakob Ingebrigtsen.[6] In May 2023, he lowered the Dutch national junior record in the 5000 meters to 13.23.01.[7]
In June 2023 running in Nice, aged eighteen, he equalled the 22 year-old Dutch 1500m national record of 3:32.89 held by Gert-Jan Liefers.[8] He was selected to represent the Netherlands in the men's 1500m at the 2023 European Athletics Team Championships.[9] He finished third in the event, behind winner Mohamed Katir.[10]
Selected for the 1500m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, he qualified for the final, in which he ran a new national record time of 3:31.25.[11]
In September 2023, he set a new national record of 3:48.93 in the mile, at the Diamond League final in Eugene, Oregon.[12]
In February 2024, he set a new Dutch record and European U20 record for the 5km, running 13:26 on the road in Monaco.[13] In July 2024, he set a world under-20 record over 1000 metres of 2:14.37 in Hengelo.[14]
Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
| Event | Time (m:s) | Venue | Date | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:44.78 | Monaco City, Monaco | 21 July 2023 | |||
| 800 metres short track | 1:47.16 | Toruń, Poland | 6 February 2024 | ||
| 2:14.39 | Hengelo, Netherlands | 7 July 2024 | |||
| 3:29.54 | Paris, France | 6 August 2024 | |||
| 3:48.93 | Eugene, OR, USA | 16 September 2023 | |||
| 4:49.68 | Brussels, Belgium | 8 September 2023 | |||
| 7:48.25 | Zagreb, Croatia | 11 September 2022 | |||
| 13:23.01 | Oordegem, Belgium | 27 May 2023 | |||
| 5 kilometres road | 13:26 | Monaco City, Monaco | 11 February 2024 |
Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
| 2022 | European U18 Championships | Jerusalem, Israel | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 1500m | 3:49.99 | |
| bgcolor=gold | 1st | 3000m | 8:11.49 | ||||
| 2023 | European Team Championships First Division | Chorzów, Poland | 3rd | 1500m | 3:37.59 | ||
| European U20 Championships | Jerusalem, Israel | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 1500m | 3:56.78 | ||
| bgcolor=gold | 1st | 5000m | 14:11.82 | ||||
| World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 10th | 1500m | 3:31.25 | |||
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 23rd (h) | 800m | 1:46.62 | ||
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 6th | 1500m | 3:29.54 |