Dutch athlete takes horrific fall in European Championship final
Dutch athlete Maureen Koster fell and lost consciousness in the middle of the women's 3,000m final
Kevin Morris
A Dutch distance runner suffered a horrifying accident on Sunday, the final day of the 2025 European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
On the fifth lap of the women’s 3,000m, Maureen Koster was ahead of Great Britain’s Innes FitzGerald and trailing Hannah Nuttall when the incident occurred. The replay showed Koster’s feet getting entangled, causing her to fall and hit her head directly on the track.
@clip.mania6_7 Tragic fall in women’s 3000meters left Maureen Koster seeming to be unconscious. Hope she’s ok 🥲#athletics #europe #3000meters #trackandfeild #fall #unconcious #sad ♬ drowning (slowed + reverb) – Vague003
According to reports, Koster lost consciousness upon impact and had to be quickly removed from the track by on-site medics before the runners circled back for another lap just under 30 seconds later.
Koster was stretchered out of the venue while still unconscious and was taken to a nearby hospital. The 32-year-old athlete took to social media on Monday morning to assure her followers that she was OK. “It still feels unreal what happened last night,” Koster wrote. “Thankfully, aside from a mild concussion, some bruises, and a broken heart, I’m fine. I really hope to be back on my feet soon.”
Koster also shared that she received an outpouring of kind messages from fans.
Koster had the second-fastest qualifying time from the heats heading into the women’s 3,000m final, behind only Ireland’s Sarah Healy, who went on to win the gold in the race that Koster could not finish.
