We last left the Netherlands’s Nadine Broersen after her pentathlon title at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot, a performance that allowed her to be voted as the European Athlete of the Month for March.
Her first goal in the start of the outdoor season is to set a personal record in the heptathlon, as Broersen hopes to achieve this over the weekend at the HYPO Mehrkampmeeting in Götzis, Austria.
She still has to get used to her new status as a world star. “It is true that things have changed since my title. It felt unreal having so many interviews, tributes, and even a dinner with the king,” she told Welingelichte Kringen.
This new boost in confidence could propel Broersen to great success this summer at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, the most important event for her this year.
“I now know that I am very consistent and when it all coincides good things can happen. I also got extra motivation to do well this summer with some more sponsors coming at to me.''
Once her title celebrations had passed, the reality of training sank back in with two weeks in Tenerife followed by several more intense weeks in her hometown of Papendal.
“I have not trained very differently than usual, but I worked a little more on my sprint speed. I think that I can make progress in the 200m'', she explains.
Last year, Broersen took second place in Götzis and will hope to go one step higher this year.
“Götzis is a good rehearsal for the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, where I want my peak performance to be.''
The heptathlon field has been lifted by a handful of up-and-coming talents who will be looking to continue their rise to the top in Götzis.
Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be making her debut in what will be her first full combined events competition of 2014. The European under-23 champion has already shown great form this year, breaking the British indoor high jump record with 1.96m and taking the world indoor long jump silver with a personal best of 6.81m.
Johnson-Thompson’s younger team-mate Morgan Lake is also a recent addition to the field among other strong European athletes.