Patrizia Van der Weken is entering the 2025 season with confidence and momentum, ready to build on an exceptional year that was filled with historic firsts. With both the European Indoor Championships and the World Indoor Championships approaching in the next three weeks, the Luxembourgish sprinter is determined to continue making history for her country.
Reflecting on her recent achievements, she describes the past year as one full of breakthroughs and milestones. “I had so many ‘first ever’ moments. It was amazing, and I hope that I can continue doing the same thing,” she shared, emphasizing her ambition to keep progressing.
The 25-year-old reached new heights last season, making her mark at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. She secured a spot in her first-ever world indoor final, finishing seventh in the 60m event Luxembourg’s best-ever placement in the competition’s history. This achievement was just the beginning of a series of remarkable performances that would establish her as a national trailblazer.
In the outdoor season, she continued to break barriers. At the European Athletics Championships in Rome, she became the first female track athlete from Luxembourg to qualify for a final. Competing in the 100m, she narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth with a time of 11.04 seconds just 0.01 seconds behind the silver and bronze medalists. During the semifinals, she set a new national record of 11.00, reinforcing her position among Europe’s elite sprinters.
Her impressive form carried over to the Wanda Diamond League, where she made a victorious debut at the Meeting de Paris. Facing a highly competitive field that included multiple major championship medalists, she secured a dominant win in the 100m, clocking 11.06 seconds despite running into a strong headwind.
Her success in Paris continued when she returned for the Olympic Games, marking another milestone in her career. She reached the semifinals of the 100m and proudly carried her nation’s flag during the closing ceremony, a testament to her impact on Luxembourg’s athletics scene.
Following a brief off-season, she quickly resumed training with renewed motivation. Spending time at training camps in Tenerife, South Africa, and Luxembourg, she wasted no time in making further improvements. Her hard work paid off early in the 2025 season, as she set another national record in only her second competition of the year.
The consistency she displayed throughout the indoor season was rewarded in Madrid, where she claimed victory at the final event of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold. Adding this win to her previous triumphs in Ostrava and Karlsruhe, she was crowned the overall 60m tour champion, cementing her status as one of the top sprinters in Europe.
Reflecting on her rapid return to competition after a short break, she explained that she didn’t feel the need for a long offseason. “I didn’t take a huge break after last year. I didn’t feel the need to switch off for too long. I had an off-season for about three weeks and then we continued where we left off. I felt really good really soon when I got back into training and everything felt quite natural,” she shared.
Her focus now shifts to the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, running from March 6-9. With a desire to improve upon her fourth-place finish in Rome and surpass her performance at the 2023 European Indoors, where she reached the 60m semifinals, she is eager to showcase her progress.
With confidence, form, and experience on her side, she is poised to make an even greater impact on the international stage. The next few weeks could see her add yet another historic chapter to her already impressive career.
