Elly van Hulst

Elly van Hulst (right) 1983

Elisa Maria "Elly" van Hulst (born June 9, 1959 in Culemborg ) is a former Dutch athlete who celebrated her greatest successes in the hall. In 1989 she was the indoor world champion in the 3000 meter run .

Career

She began with ballet as a child, and at eleven she found track and field. After middle school she moved from Maastricht to Leeuwarden and trained under Theo Kersten, whom she would later marry. In 1978 she won the first of her 68 Dutch championship titles.

She reached her first international finals at the European Championships in Athens in 1982 , when she was eighth in 4: 07.76 minutes in the 1,500 meter run . In 1984 she was second behind Fița Lovin and in front of Sandra Gasser at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg in 4: 11.09 min . At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles she reached the final, but was only twelfth and last in 4: 11.58 minutes. At the Indoor World Games in 1985 in Paris-Bercy , she won in 4: 11.41 minutes with a hundredth of a second ahead of Fita Lovin. After finishing sixth over 1500 meters at the European Indoor Championships in 1985, she finished fourth in 1986. At the European Championships in 1986 she reached the final over 1500 meters, eleventh in 4: 06.72 minutes, and over 3000 meters , ninth in 8: 49.22 minutes.

At the European Indoor Championships in 1987 in Liévin , she only started over 3000 meters for the first time and was second in 8: 51.40 minutes behind Yvonne Murray and in front of Brigitte Kraus . At the World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis in 1987 , she was eighth in 8: 57.46 min. In the summer at the Open Air World Championships in Rome she was eighth over 1500 meters in 4: 03.63 minutes and sixth over 3000 meters in 8: 42.56 minutes. At the European Indoor Championships in 1988 she won in 8: 44.50 minutes ahead of Vera Michallek . In Seoul at the 1988 Olympic Games , she was ninth in 8: 43.92 minutes over 3000 meters.

In the indoor season of 1989 she won the European Indoor Championships in The Hague after a pure strolling race in 9: 10.01 min. A fortnight later at the 1989 World Indoor Championships in Budapest , however, a very fast race developed. Together with Liz McColgan , Elly van Hulst left the field early, in the end the Dutchwoman won in 8: 33.82 minutes and just under a second ahead of the Scot. The time meant a new indoor world record. It was only in 2001 that Gabriela Szabo broke this world record. Elly van Hulst was voted Sportswoman of the Year in 1989.

At the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow in 1990, she won her third title in a row when she won after 8: 57.28 minutes before Margareta Keszeg . Shortly thereafter, Elly van Hulst began to suffer for a long time; an illness hampered her performance without the doctors finding the right medication. As a side effect of the treatment of a viral infection, she developed asthma, and her drugs for asthma were on the list of the doping agencies. She could no longer build on her great successes, the attempt to participate in the 1996 Olympic Games failed.

With a height of 1.72 m, her competition weight was 56 kg. After her career, she and her husband Theo Kersten settled in the Algarve as a real estate agent.

Dutch championship title

open air

distance	year
800 meters	1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988
1500 meters	1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
3000 meters	1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993
5000 meters	1983, 1984
10,000 meters	1983, 1984
15 kilometers	1984

Hall

distance	year
800 meters	1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990
1500 meters	1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993
3000 meters	1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995

Best times

• 800 meters: 1: 59.62 min (1981)
• 1500 meters: 4: 03.63 min (1987)
• 3000 meters: 8: 33.97 min (1988) open air; in the hall: 8: 33.82 min (1989)
• 5000 meters: 15:17:08 min (1989)
• 10,000 meters: 32: 48.15 min (1988)

Between 1981 and 1989, it set nine open-air national records and sixteen indoor national records.

literature

• Peter Matthews (ed): Athletics 1992 . Windsor 1992 ISBN 1-873-05711-3