Samuel Chapple (born 23 November 1998) is a Dutch middle distance runner. He became Dutch national indoor champion in 2022 over

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

. In 2025, he became Dutch national record holder over 800 metres,

1000 metres The 1000 metres, 1 kilometer run, or 1K run is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It consists of two and a half laps around an outdoor 400 m track, or five laps around an indoor 200 m track. The 1000 ...

, and

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

indoors. He won the gold medal over 800 metres at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships.

Early and personal life

Born to a Spanish mother and a British father, he is multi-lingual. From

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

, he ran as a member of the Olympus'70 athletic club in

Naaldwijk Naaldwijk () is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about 10 km (6 miles) southwest of The Hague. Naaldwijk lies in the heart of Westland. The largest economic sector is g ...

. He was a member of the Team Distance Runners in Castricum from 2018 to 2022 with Guido Hartensveld. He then spent time from 2022 to 2023 with the National Team in Papendal and trained with Tomasz Lewandowksi. He later based himself in Ede with the Valley Running Team and his coach Grete Koens.

Career

He won the

at the 2022 Dutch Indoor Athletics Championships. He competed over 800 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, placing ninth overall. His progress was hampered when he missed the outdoor season in 2022 after he broke his ankle and tore his ankle ligaments competing in Belgium. In January 2025, he set a new Dutch indoor record over

of 3:35.61, and in February 2025, he set a new Dutch indoor record over 800 metres of 1:45.46, both whilst competing in

Apeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. The municipality of Apeldoorn, including the villages of Beekbergen, Loenen (Apeldoorn), Loenen, Ugchelen and Hoenderloo ...

. He also beat Rob Druppers’ long-standing Dutch record over 1000 metres with 2:16.09 to win the Keely Klassic on 15 February 2025. The following weekend, he won the Dutch national indoor title over 800 metres. He was selected for the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in

, where he caught Belgian Elliott Crestan on the finish line to win the gold medal in the 800 metres final and lower his national record to 1:44.88. He was selected for the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. He qualified for the final of the 800 metres, placing fourth overall. In May 2025, he was named as a challenger in the short distance category at the

2025 Grand Slam Track The 2025 Grand Slam Track season was the inaugural season of Grand Slam Track, an outdoor professional track and field league established in 2024 by Michael Johnson. The season lasted from April to June. Schedule The 2025 Grand Slam Track se ...

event in Philadelphia.

Circuit performances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapple, Samuel 1998 births Dutch Athletics Championships winners Dutch male middle-distance runners Living people 21st-century Dutch sportsmen European Athletics Indoor Championships winners Dutch people of Spanish descent Dutch people of English descent