Brinkmann was still convinced on Monday that she would be fit enough to cover the 42.195 km distance across the capital. She previously came from Switzerland to the Netherlands to work on her recovery from a calf injury and received positive messages from physiotherapists.
“But I took the walking test yesterday and I’m still in a lot of pain,” Brinkmann said at a digital press event on Thursday. “I couldn’t see myself running a marathon without damaging my calf. It was a very difficult decision, but I also have to run in the long run. So it’s not wise to risk anything now.”
Almost out of nowhere, Brinkman broke into the top spot in distance running. In her first marathon, in 2021 in Valencia, she ran a record time of 2 hours, 26 minutes and 34 seconds. Last year, she continued her story of setting a Dutch record in Rotterdam and a historic bronze medal at the European Championships in Munich.
But 2023 is currently a year full of setbacks for the former hockey star. In April, Brinkmann thought he had reached the limit for the Paris Olympics in the Boston Marathon, but due to an error by the IAAF, this turned out not to be the case. She suffered a hamstring injury in June, and now it’s her calf that’s thwarting her plans for the fall.
“I was very confident that I would have a good time in Amsterdam,” says Brinkman. “And I was especially looking forward to running for friends and the public. So I’m really disappointed that I had to cancel. Things haven’t been going as planned for a while.”
Brinkmann was also hoping to reach the Olympic threshold in Amsterdam. She doesn’t know yet whether she will attempt a sub-2:26.50 time in another competition this year. The choice will be the Valencia Marathon on December 3.
“Of course I had already considered the possibilities,” says Brinkman. “If my leg is going well, I want to race again as soon as possible. But I don’t want to rush into anything. It doesn’t really help me.”
Dutch women accept that bad moments are also part of the high sporting life. “As a top athlete, you live on the edge. I’m still trying to figure out what that edge is, and maybe I’m a little over it now. Hopefully I can learn from these kind of setbacks. I can make mistakes. But hopefully the same thing won’t happen twice.”
Brinkman will simply watch the Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday. She hopes that Dutch women Jill Holtermann and Anne Luyten, with whom she has trained occasionally in recent weeks, will fall below the Olympic limit. “Now that I can’t walk by myself, I really want them to have a good time.”
The Amsterdam Marathon starts on Sunday at 9:00 AM.
