Patrizia Van der Weken Looks Ahead Following Historic Indoor Sprint Season

On Wednesday 23 April 2025, the Luxembourg Athletics Federation (Fédération Luxembourgeoise d'Athlétisme – FLA) held a special evening in honour of Patrizia Van der Weken to celebrate a historic double achievement for Luxembourgish athletics.

In March 2025, 25-year-old Luxembourg athlete Patrizia Van der Weken claimed two bronze medals in the women's 60m sprint. She first reached the podium at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, followed by another bronze at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China. At the latter event, she set a new national record of 7.06 seconds.

At the event held at the Coque in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, in the presence of representatives of the Luxembourg Athletics Federation (FLA) and organisational partners, Patrizia Van der Weken was joined by her coach Arnaud Starck, with whom she has worked for the past eight years. In an interview with Chronicle.lu, the coach of the European and World Championships medallist reflected on her recent achievements and shared plans for the future.

"I think for me it's a very key moment – the decision to stay in Luxembourg eight years ago and every year has brought good progression. But it's not finished – maybe next, silver or gold. She has great motivation every day and I think that's a good quality of Patrizia. And she trusts me. Yes, it's a combination of our work together," said Arnaud Starck.

When asked about changes made to the athlete's training process that led to this historic result, the coach declined to comment, stating it was a "secret". Looking ahead to the summer season, the athlete's goals include breaking the eleven-second barrier in the 100 metres and reaching the final at the World Championships.

Patrizia Van der Weken considers the bronze medal she won at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing as her most significant achievement to date, although she believes she was close to achieving more. "I was aiming to at least get a medal, so that's what I did. That was good. But then I felt I was closer than I was at Europeans, so that left me quite hungry for the future. I mean, those ladies – they're all super nice – but still, I want to beat them. I mean, who doesn't? So that was good. And I knew that I had to go out fast because the Italian lady [Zaynab Dosso] and the Polish lady [Ewa Swoboda] are just crazy fast at the start. So I just had to go out fast and be as close to them as I could and then maybe try to catch them in the end. [It] went according to plan. So I can't be mad about anything," said Van der Weken.

The Luxembourgish sprinter is set to open her summer season in the women's 100m at the Diamond League meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Friday 16 May 2025. In the lead-up to this competition, she will be based at a training camp in Belek, Turkey.