Eveline Saalberg (pronounced [ˌeːvəˈlinə ˈsaːlbɛrx]; born 30 July 1998) is a Dutch sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres.
As part of the Dutch women's and mixed 4 × 400 metres relay team, she won a gold medal at the 2023 World Championships, two silver medals at the world championships (outdoor and indoor), and two gold medals at the European Championships (outdoor and indoor). Individually, she won two gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal at the Dutch championships (outdoor and indoor).
Eveline Saalberg was born on 30 July 1998[1] in Arnhem in the Netherlands.
At the age of eight, she started with athletics and became a member of the club GVAC in Veldhoven.[2] In the youth categories she competed in, she won several medals at Dutch junior championships.
During her student days, Saalberg distinguished herself by becoming a multiple Dutch student champion.[3] She combined all this with a board year as chair of the Student Athletics Association MSAV Uros.[4]
Saalberg experienced her breakthrough at the 2019 Dutch Athletics Championships in The Hague in July. Completely against expectations, she won the title in the 400 m hurdles there. She went under the minute for the first time with a time of 58.86 s.[5] Afterwards, she stated that on a training holiday in South Tyrol, she could fully focus on the technique of hurdling.[6] In the autumn of 2019, Saalberg joined the training group of athletics coach Laurent Meuwly to train at the National Sports Centre Papendal alongside Eva Hovenkamp and Femke Bol.[7]
At the Dutch Indoor Championships in February 2020, Saalberg won the bronze medal in the 400 m at 53.65 s. At the Dutch Championships in August, she won the silver medal in the 400 m at 54.16 s.
In May 2021, Saalberg competed at the World Athletics Relays as a member of the Netherlands team in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay and mixed 4 × 400 metres relay. In the women's relay, she ran in the heats, and the Netherlands finished fourth in the final. In the mixed relay, she ran in the final, and the Netherlands finished eighth.
At the World Indoor Championships in March 2022, Saalberg competed in the heats and final of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay, and the Netherlands won the silver medal.
In July, she competed at the World Championships. In the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay, she ran in the heats, and the Netherlands won the silver medal in the final. In the women's 400 metres, she ran 52.59 s in the heats and did not advance to the semi-finals.
In August, she competed at the European Championships. In the women's 400 metres, she ran 51.81 s in the heats to advance to the semi-finals. She ran 52.45 s in the semi-finals and did not advance to the final. In the women's 4 × 400 metres relay, she ran in the final, and the Netherlands won the gold medal.
At the European Indoor Championships in March 2023, Saalberg ran in the final of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay, and the Netherlands won the gold medal.
In August, she competed at the World Championships. She ran in the heats and final of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay, and the Netherlands won the gold medal.
Information from her World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[1]
Key: Lifetime best (in bold)
Information from her World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[1]