Luuk Pelkmans
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 11 October 2006 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Event | Decathlon | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | Decathlon: 8293 (Tampere, 2025) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Luuk Pelkmans (born 11 October 2006) is a Dutch multi-event athlete. He was a silver medalist in the decathlon at the 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships.[1]
Early and personal life
He is from Terheijden, North Brabant. He is from a family of athletes; both his parents are runners and his brother Tim is also a multi-eventer. He began training in Breda from the age of six years-old. When he was 10 years-old, he held the European age-group best record for the high jump, with 1.57 meters.[2][3]
Career
In 2023, he won one gold medal, two silver medals, and a bronze medal at the Dutch National Under-18 Championships. He became the Dutch indoor champion in the heptathlon in February 2024, winning with five separate personal best scores. He was runner-up at the Dutch National Championships in the under-20 decathlon that summer, his 7490 points qualifying him for the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, in which he placed eleventh overall.[2][4]
He won the heptathlon at the Dutch U20 Indoor Combined Events Championships in Apeldoorn in February 2025.[5]
He was a silver medalist in the decathlon at the 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland in August 2025.[6] He scored a personal best 8293 points to finish runner-up to Polish athlete Hubert Troscianka who set a new under-20 world record in the event with 8514.[7] The pair had a close battle with Pelkmans leading the event after the high jump, and regaining the lead again after the discus throw, with only 16 points between the top-two athletes as the event moved to its final three disciplines before the pole moved away prior to the 1500 metres, which Pelkmans won in 4:19.14.[8][9][10]
References
- ^ "Luuk Pelkmans". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ a b Piest, Tijn (13 August 2024). "Rising Star: Luuk Pelkmans". Hardloopnetwerk.nl. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ "Bredaas multitalent Luuk Pelkmans wil de wereldtop bestormen: 'Hier wil ik mijn leven van maken'". bndestem.nl (in Dutch). 6 September 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ "World Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ "Dutch U20 Indoor Combined Events Championships". World Athletics. 8 February 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ "World U20 record! Troscianka wins European U20 decathlon gold with 8514 points". European Athletics. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ "Troscianka breaks world U20 decathlon record in Tampere". World Athletics. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ "Final entries published for 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships". European Athletics. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- ^ "World U20 decathlon best! Troscianka regains decathlon lead with 46.21 400m". European Athletics. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ "European Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.