Aike van der Lei

When Aike was 12 years of age he started doing track and field after he quit playing soccer. At first he engaged in multiple events, but about 2 years later Aike decided to focus on distance running only. At age 15 he suffered a serious knee injury and he couldn’t run for 2 years. During that time he was training with his local club team AV Edam and when his coach left the club Aike considered quitting as well because of all these setbacks. However, Aike pushed trough and came back even stronger! He joined his current team AAC and he made lots of progress since. The 2021-2022 outdoor season was a breakthrough year for Aike running PBs almost every weekend. 

His major strengths is his motivation and strong mentality. Aike doesn’t give up easily and knows how to deal with setbacks, such as injuries. Even during those times of injury he stays positive, focuses on his rehab and comes back stronger. Moreover, Aike is also a very good competitor who doesn’t get distracted by others, but keeps his focus on his own race plan. An area he is currently working on to improve is his strength in order to become more resilient. We strongly believe there is still much room for improvement, especially if Aike becomes a stronger athlete and keeps developing himself athletically. 

His current PBs: 

800m: 1:59,18 (2022)

1500m: 3:58,26 (2023)

3000m: 8:48,15 (2022)

5000m: 15:38,24 (2022)

His primary athletic goals in the USA are to get everything out of his running career and perform at his absolute best for his college team. Aike would like to keep developing athletically and run PBs in each of his events. 

Aike already finished his high school in The Netherlands and he’s currently doing a Bachelors degree in Sports Studies at the Hogeschool Amsterdam. He’s looking to transfer into a sports studies program or something related in the Fall of 2024. For more details about his academics, please check out the details section below.