Patrick van Luijk
Encyclopedia
Patrick Jermaine Herschel van Luijk (born September 17, 1984 in Spijkenisse
) is a Dutch
sprinter
.
n father. Sports have always been the most important hobby of Van Luijk and he started with football
at an early age for local team FC Bakestijn. He continued his career at Xerxes
and later, when his friends joined Sparta Rotterdam
he was scouted by Feyenoord and he played in their youth squads for a few years. Because he did not feel at home at Feyenoord he played for RVVH Ridderkerk for a while before joining FC Dordrecht
. Because his education was suffering from all the football commitments he decided to slow down on it and focus on his school again.
He felt it was time for a change and fighting sports got his interest at first. For three years he practiced ninjutsu
, but he did not know if he would feel like continuing in the sport. When his former girlfriend told him about sprinting he was unsure if another change in sports would be a smart thing. After asking several more times he finally decided to do an athletics trial with a friend in which they did all athletics disciplines from shot put to long jump and from high jump to javelin throw. The last and final event was the sprint and he was addicted straight away.
As of October 2004 he started becoming active as a sprinter, training twice a week. It didn't take him a long time to become the fastest runner at the team and this encouraged him to become better. In local meetings with other teams however he was not able to win yet and because he always wanted to win he decided to join a better team named Rotterdam Atletiek. From February 2005 he is coached by Errol Esajas and since that time he is training six times a week instead of the two times before. This resulted in his participation at the European Championships of 2006 after only being active in the sport for two years. At the European Championships he reached the final with the 4 x 100 metres relay team together with Timothy Beck
, Caimin Douglas
and Guus Hoogmoed
. In the final they finished in eighth position with 39.64 while they had been running 38.85 in the semi final. Van Luijk also participated at the 200 metres where he was eliminated in the second round.
In 2007 Van Luijk won his first national title at the 60 metres indoor and a year later he tried to defend his title, but he came only 0.004 too short on Guus Hoogmoed to finish in second position that time. Later in 2008 he became the Dutch national champion over 100 and 200 metres outdoor, claiming his second and third title. The 4 x 100 metres relay team together with team mates Maarten Heisen
, Caimin Douglas and Guus Hoogmoed (Gregory Sedoc
and Virgil Spier
as reserves) did qualify for the Olympics. Initially they finished in 17th position during the qualification process while only the first 16 teams would qualify, but due to the cancellation of the Australia
n team they were allowed to start in Beijing
. In their qualification heat Heisen, Hoogmoed, Van Luijk and Douglas placed third in behind Trinidad and Tobago
and Japan
, but in front of Brazil
. Their time of 38.87 was the fifth fastest out of all sixteen participating nations in the first round and they qualified for the final. In the final, the second baton change between Hoogmoed and Van Luijk failed, resulting in a slow time. They still finished the race to place seventh, before the disqualified Chinese
team.
Spijkenisse
Spijkenisse is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 74,482 in 2006, and covers an area of 30.23 km²...
) is a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
.
Biography
Patrick van Luijk was born in 1984 out of a Dutch mother and a JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n father. Sports have always been the most important hobby of Van Luijk and he started with football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
at an early age for local team FC Bakestijn. He continued his career at Xerxes
XerxesDZB
XerxesDZB is a Dutch football club based in Rotterdam.The club was founded in 1904 as RFC Xerxes and their first regional championship was won in 1907. After a second championship in 1911 the club was promoted to the second class of Dutch football...
and later, when his friends joined Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....
he was scouted by Feyenoord and he played in their youth squads for a few years. Because he did not feel at home at Feyenoord he played for RVVH Ridderkerk for a while before joining FC Dordrecht
FC Dordrecht
FC Dordrecht is a football club from the city of Dordrecht in the Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie.- History :Founded on 16 August 1883 as Dordrechtsche Football Club , it became a professional club in 1954 upon the introduction of professional football to the Netherlands...
. Because his education was suffering from all the football commitments he decided to slow down on it and focus on his school again.
He felt it was time for a change and fighting sports got his interest at first. For three years he practiced ninjutsu
Ninjutsu
or may be:*the arts associated with espionage and assassination in feudal Japan, see Ninja*modern schools of martial arts claiming to be based in these traditions, see Modern Schools of Ninjutsu*fictional depictions, see Ninja in popular culture...
, but he did not know if he would feel like continuing in the sport. When his former girlfriend told him about sprinting he was unsure if another change in sports would be a smart thing. After asking several more times he finally decided to do an athletics trial with a friend in which they did all athletics disciplines from shot put to long jump and from high jump to javelin throw. The last and final event was the sprint and he was addicted straight away.
As of October 2004 he started becoming active as a sprinter, training twice a week. It didn't take him a long time to become the fastest runner at the team and this encouraged him to become better. In local meetings with other teams however he was not able to win yet and because he always wanted to win he decided to join a better team named Rotterdam Atletiek. From February 2005 he is coached by Errol Esajas and since that time he is training six times a week instead of the two times before. This resulted in his participation at the European Championships of 2006 after only being active in the sport for two years. At the European Championships he reached the final with the 4 x 100 metres relay team together with Timothy Beck
Timothy Beck
Timothy Beck is a Dutch sprinter. Together with Caimin Douglas, Patrick van Balkom and Troy Douglas he won a bronze medal in 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics...
, Caimin Douglas
Caimin Douglas
Caimin Christian Douglas is a Dutch sprinter.-Biography:Douglas was born in Rosmalen, out of a Dutch mother and an Antillean father. At the age of five the family returned to his father's roots in Curaçao. There he played football from the age of 11 for his local team in Willemstad and the...
and Guus Hoogmoed
Guus Hoogmoed
Guus Hoogmoed is a Dutch sprinter, specializing in the 200 metres.He finished fourth in 60 metres at the 2005 European Indoor Championships and eighth in 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2006 European Championships....
. In the final they finished in eighth position with 39.64 while they had been running 38.85 in the semi final. Van Luijk also participated at the 200 metres where he was eliminated in the second round.
In 2007 Van Luijk won his first national title at the 60 metres indoor and a year later he tried to defend his title, but he came only 0.004 too short on Guus Hoogmoed to finish in second position that time. Later in 2008 he became the Dutch national champion over 100 and 200 metres outdoor, claiming his second and third title. The 4 x 100 metres relay team together with team mates Maarten Heisen
Maarten Heisen
Maarten Heisen is a Dutch sprinter.-Biography:Heisen started becoming active in athletics at the age of 9. In these early years his career was basically based on making fun...
, Caimin Douglas and Guus Hoogmoed (Gregory Sedoc
Gregory Sedoc
Gregory Sedoc is a Dutch hurdler.He reached his first international final at the 2007 European Indoor Championships in 60 metres hurdles, and won the event, equalling his personal best time of 7.63 seconds which was established in the previous rounds and beating fellow-countryman Marcel van der...
and Virgil Spier
Virgil Spier
Virgil Spier is a Dutch athlete who started at the decathlon, but who is currently active mainly as a sprinter and a hurdler.-Biography:...
as reserves) did qualify for the Olympics. Initially they finished in 17th position during the qualification process while only the first 16 teams would qualify, but due to the cancellation of the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n team they were allowed to start in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. In their qualification heat Heisen, Hoogmoed, Van Luijk and Douglas placed third in behind Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, but in front of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Their time of 38.87 was the fifth fastest out of all sixteen participating nations in the first round and they qualified for the final. In the final, the second baton change between Hoogmoed and Van Luijk failed, resulting in a slow time. They still finished the race to place seventh, before the disqualified Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
team.
Personal bests
- Outdoor
- 100 metres100 metresThe 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
- 10.25 (2008, LeiriaLeiriaLeiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
) - 200 metres200 metresA 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
- 20.52 (2009, GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
)
- 100 metres
- Indoor
- 60 metres60 metres60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...
- 6.66 (2011, ApeldoornApeldoornApeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
; 2011, ZoetermeerZoetermeerZoetermeer is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 37.06 km² . A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950...
; 2009, ApeldoornApeldoornApeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
)
- 60 metres