Robin van Riel gained his first international experience in 2017, when he reached the semi -finals in the 800-meter run at the U20 European Championships in Grosseto , where he was eliminated with a time of 1: 57.97 minutes. The following year he reached the final at the U20 World Championships in Tampere over 1500 meters and classified there in 3: 48.65 minutes in twelfth place. In 2019 he won the silver medal at the U20 European Championships in Borås in 3: 56.03 min.
In 2019 and 2020 van Riel became Dutch indoor champion in the 1500 meter run.
Personal best
800 meters: 1: 49.85 min, June 2, 2018 in Oordegem
1500 meters: 3: 42.44 min, June 15, 2019 in Nijmegen
1500 meters (hall): 3: 44.79 min, February 8, 2020 in Toruń