Igor Ouwerkerk

Igor is currently running for his club team Leiden Atletiek. This talented athlete became a National Champion in the 2k steeple chase U18 in The Netherlands (2022). Currently, Igor is nationally ranked 1st U18 in this event as well. Additionally, Igor also finished 3rd at Nationals U18 running the 3k. Worth mentioning is that Igor broke his collarbone three weeks before this National championship, but he was determined to still participate which shows his mentality in sports.  

Igor started his athletic career as a cyclist and until the start of 2022, this sport was his main focus. He still loves cycling and trains his endurance on the bike in addition to his running practice. Even now, Igor races in the top-30 nationally for cycling while his priority shifted to distance running. It was his performance at XC Nationals in 2021 that made him decide to focus on track & field primarily. He managed to finish 14th with hardly any training. Since then he made lots of progress very quickly and had various successes throughout his career already such as winning several 5k road races. Recently Igor changed to a different coach who helps him to combine cycling with distance running. 

His major strengths are his motivation and winning mindset. Igor never gives up and always pushes himself to his limits in races. His winning mindset and excellent kick make him a strong championship racer. An area Igor is currently working on is his top speed. He has an excellent aerobic capacity, but an area of improvement are his acceleration and speed. We strongly believe there is still much room for improvement when he keeps working on these areas. Especially considering Igor only started training for distance running about a year ago. 

His current PBs are: 

2000m sc: 6:11,25 (2022)

3000m: 8:08,37(2024)

1500m: 3:52,62 (2024)

800m: 1:56,51 (2023)

In the USA, Igor’s primary athletic goal is to perform at his absolute best for his college team and make as much progress as possible. He would like to PB is all his events across the board. His ultimate goal for his collegiate athletic career is to make it to NCAA’s. After college Igor would like to become a professional runner and make the Dutch National team. 

Igor is currently enrolled in the highest level of Dutch high school (VWO) and graduated in the Spring of 2023. He took a gap year after graduation to focus primarily on sports to prepare himself for his collegiate career. For more information about his academics, please check out the details section below.