Factsheet

Personal bests

Short History

After having participated in several sports when he was a child, Kamiel picked up running when he was about seventeen years old. Soon, he joined track club Ilion at the town Zoetermeer, where he started training with a group of middle and long distance runners. At this time, he learned about interval training, fartleks and races.

In 1990, Kamiel started his studies in biochemistry at Leiden University. One year later, he moved to Leiden and joined Bram Wassenaar’s group at track club De Bataven. This club later merged with A.V. Holland to become Leiden Atletiek, which still is Kamiel’s “home.”

Kamiel ran both track and cross-country. For the first time in 1993, Kamiel qualified for the Dutch National Championships. He ran the 5.000 meters and placed second. At cross-country Nationals that same year, Kamiel finished eighth.

Kamiel progressed quickly and was offered a track scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). From January 1994 until May 1996, Kamiel was a UT student. He was eligible to compete for UT in the 1994 spring and fall semesters and in the 1995 spring semester. His cooperation with coach Stan Huntsman was fruitful and resulted in four All American awards. During the 1995 fall semester and the 1996 spring semester, Kamiel was no longer eligible to compete for UT but stayed in touch with the team as an assistant coach. During this final year at UT, he completed his degree and continued to work with Huntsman on a personal basis. During his last year in the US, Kamiel lowered his personal best in the 10.000 meters to 28:01.4.

In 1997, Kamiel broke the Dutch national record in the 10.000 meters by running 27:35.72 which qualified him for the World Outdoor Championships. In the final of this event, he placed 11th. During that same year, Kamiel participated in the World Indoor Championships in the 3.000 m. After the World Outdoor Championships, Kamiel placed 1st in the 10.000 m at the World Student Games. Since 1997, Kamiel has qualified for every major outdoor championship including the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics. (See Selected Results.) In 2001, Kamiel placed second in the European Cross-Country Championships, earning a silver medal. And, in 2002, Kamiel broke his own Dutch national records for 5.000m and 10.000m by running 13:13.06 and 27:26.29 respectively. After a troublesome start of the season, Kamiel managed to run well at the 2003 World Championships in Paris and finished as first European in eighth place. Later that year, Kamiel showed he can run road races as well, and broke the 23 year old national record in the marathon, timing 2:08:31. Because of the expected heat, Kamiel chose to run the 10.000 m instead of the marathon at the 2004 Olympics. He was not quite happy about his 14th place in this race.

Though Kamiel has not left the track completely, his main goal for the years to come can be found in road races, including the marathon. In 2005, he prepared himself vigorously for the 42 k race at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. Unfortunately, three weeks before the event he seriously ruptured his left hamstring. The injury sidelined Kamiel for about three months after which he came back successfully by winning both the classic Sylvester cross country race in Soest and the Egmond half marathon. In April 2006 Kamiel ran his fifth marathon and currently he is preparing for the 2006 European Championships, where he would like to run this classic distance.

Last updated: june 15th 2006

Selected Results

XC = Cross country
NC = National Championships
EC = European Championships
WC = World Championships
OG = Olympic Games
NR = National Record
WSG = World Student Games
EurCh = Euro Challenge
NCAA = National Collegiate Athletic Association (USA)

Last updated: April 3rd, 2008