Luuk Pelkmans
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 11 October 2006 Terheijden, North Brabant, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | Decathlon | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | Decathlon: 8293 (Tampere, 2025) Heptathlon: 6127 (Champaign, 2026) | ||||||||||||||
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] He joined the University of Illinois prior to the start of the 2026 indoor season.[4]
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][5]
He won the heptathlon at the Dutch U20 Indoor Combined Events Championships in Apeldoorn in February 2025.[6]
He was a silver medalist in the decathlon at the 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland in August 2025.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9][10][11]
At his debut heptathlon for the Fighting Illini in Champaign in January 2026, Pelkmans broke the school record with 6127 points.[12] He placed fourth overall in the heptathlon at the 2026 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.[13] In May, Pelkmans scored 8,004 points to win the decathlon at the Big Ten Championships.[14] In August, he competed at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, in decathlon.[15]
References
- ↑ "Luuk Pelkmans". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- 1 2 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.
- ↑ "PREVIEW: ILLINOIS' MULTI, FIELD DEPTH ON FULL DISPLAY THIS WEEKEND AT FIGHTING ILLINI CHALLENGE". Runnerspace. 21 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "HEATH BALDWIN SCORES HEPTATHLON WORLD LEAD AT ILLINI CHALLENGE". Dyestat. 23 January 2026. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
- ↑ "Arkansas & Georgia Claim The 2026 NCAA D1 Indoor National Team T&F Titles". Flotrack. 15 March 2026. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ↑ "AXELINA JOHANSSON CRUSHES MEET RECORD, WAVES FLAG FOR NEBRASKA AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS". Dye Stat. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ "European Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 10 August 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.