Karlijn Mesman

Karlijn started her athletic career running the 800m, but that turned out to be too short of a distance for her. Once she tried the longer distances like the 1500m and 3000m, it was love at first sight. Long distance was more suitable for Karlijn. She is currently training with her club team RDRA, where her coach put her in her first steeple race. Not long after that Karlijn became a national champion U18 in the 2k steeplechase (2022) and it was only her third steeple race ever!

At the same Dutch national Championship U18 (2022) she got third place in the 3000m. The previous outdoor season (2021), she placed 2nd in this event as a 15-year old. In 2021 she became 3rd at XC Nationals U18 as well. Recently (February, 2023) she prolonged her 3rd place at XC nationals in a race with a very tough course. Only two weeks prior to this she won two more bronze medals at Indoor Nationals U18 in the 1500m and 3k. This most recent outdoor season (2023) she added more medals to her collection. Karlijn became double national champion in both the 3k steeple chase and 5k at the U20 National Championships. 

Her major strength is her aerobic capacity. Because of that, longer distances are fairly easy for her as she has great endurance. Karlijn isn’t the best starter in the field but later in the race when everyone collapses, her part of the race starts and she’s ready to go get them. She wants to keep working on her start as she calls herself a “diesel”, therefore she wants to improve her speed and be sharp from the beginning of a race. Moreover, steeplechase is Karlijn's favorite events and she would like to pursue this in discipline in the USA. Therefore, it’s important to her that she joins a college track program where she can focus on this event. 

Her current PB’s: 3000m: 9:55,29 (2023)1500m: 4:36,39 (2023) 3k steeple: 10:45,87 (2023)5000m: 17:08,09 (2023)

In the USA, Karlijn’s goal is to keep improving her PBs and to get the maximum out of her athletic career. She would like to perform at her absolute best for her college track team. Her ultimate goal is to participate in the European Championships U20/U23. 

Karlijn is interested in studying Biology or Biomedical Sciences. For more information about her academics, please check out the details section below.