Konstanze Klosterhalfen
Konstanze "Koko" Klosterhalfen is a German athlete who competes in middle-distance running and the 5000 metres. She is the 2019 IAAF World Championship bronze medalist in the 5000m event. In February 2020, she set a European record in the indoor 5000m with 14:30.79, the fourth fastest time ever.
In 2017, Klosterhalfen became the youngest female runner to cover the 800m in less than 2 minutes, the 1500m in less than 4 minutes and the 5000m in less than 15 minutes. She is the current German national record holder for 1500 metres, one mile, 3000 metres and 5000 metres.
Personal life
Konstanze Klosterhalfen was born to Bernd and Brigitta Klosterhalfen. She grew up in Königswinter-Bockeroth, her father is a lawyer and her mother a teacher. Her brothers are Nikolas and Leonard. The older brother was also a talented runner but decided for association football. In 2009, “Niko” ran the 1000 metres in 2:50.37 minutes. The year before, he set the second fastest time in the German U14 division. “Leo” plays handball at a high amateur level.Klosterhalfen attended :de:Städtisches Gymnasium am Oelberg|Städtisches Gymnasium am Oelberg in Königswinter-Oberpleis, she had A-levels in German and Social Science. She is enrolled at Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln in a Sport Journalism degree.
Since fall 2018, Klosterhalfen lives and trains in Portland, OR, and became a member of the Nike Oregon Project in April 2019. The contact to the NOP was made via sports manager Oliver Mintzlaff. She has never been trained by Alberto Salazar, instead she is under the supervision of Pete Julian. She describes her living in Oregon as it's like training camp every day. According to her, the training is more intense, with more structure.
In her youth, Klosterhalfen was an altar server, and walked the runway twice at the Berlin Fashion Week. In her leisure time, she likes to play the piano and the western concert flute, in addition to ballet.
Klosterhalfen's first trainer at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen was Tina Lewis. After Lewis, she was trained by Sigrid Bühler and DLV women's coach :de:Sebastian Weiß|Sebastian Weiß, he gave her the nickname “Koko”.
Career
2014
Klosterhalfen went to the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics staged in Nanjing, from 16–28 August. She ran the 1500m in a field of 20 competitors. In the final, she placed 4th out of 10 with a time of 4:21.02. The winner became Kokebe Tesfaye with 4:15.38.2015
On 21–22 February, the German national indoor Championships took place in Karlsruhe. The 1500m run was won by Maren Kock in 4:13.72, Klosterhalfen placed second with 4:15.25, a new European U20 record.Klosterhalfen went to the European U20 Championships in Eskilstuna, from 16–19 July. In the 1500m race, she received a bronze medal with 4:20.84, Bobby Clay won in 4:17.91, and Amy Griffiths placed second with 4:20.41.
On 13 December, Klosterhalfen won the European Cross Country Championships in the U20 women's division in Hyères. On a 4.157km course, she finished first out of 81 starters, Harriet Knowles-Jones took the silver medal with a 4 seconds gap. Furthermore, Klosterhalfen won the team ranking with Germany.
2016
On 6 February, Klosterhalfen placed second in the 1500m race at the World Indoor Tour meet Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe in Karlsruhe. Her time of 4:08.38 set a U20 European record. The winner Axumawit Embaye surpassed her by a margin of 0.16 seconds.On 28 February, Klosterhalfen won the German national indoor 3000m title in Leipzig. She finished with 8:56.36, 4.22 seconds ahead of Alina Reh. Klosterhalfen's time set a new European U20 record.
Klosterhalfen set a national U20 record at a 10k run in Leverkusen on 6 March. Her winning time of 32:24 minutes broke the record formerly held by Anke Schäning, who ran 33:03 minutes in 1990. Moreover, her time was faster than the national track 10,000m U20 record of 32:44.52 by Schäning.
On 20 July, Klosterhalfen won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz. Beyenu Degefa won the 3000m event with a new championship record of 8:41.76, Dalila Abdulkadir placed second in 8:46.42. Her own time was 8:46.74, a national U20 record.
Olympic Games
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Klosterhalfen competed against a field of 41 starters in the 1500m. In her heat, she placed 6th out of 14. Each two semi-finals had 12 runners, she placed 10th in her semi-final. Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon became the 1500m Olympic champion in a time of 4:08.92, Genzebe Dibaba achieved a silver medal with 4:10.27, and Jenny Simpson ranked third for a bronze medal in 4:10.53.
For her second time, Klosterhalfen won the U20 women's field at the European Cross Country Championships on 11 December. On a 4.06km course, silver medalist Anna Emilie Møller lost 17 seconds to her. Germany placed second in the team ranking.
Klosterhalfen competed at the Bitburger-Silvesterlauf in Trier on 31 December. Her time of 16:05 minutes placed her first in the 5k Sparkassen-Elite-Lauf der Frauen. The men's 8k at the same venue were formerly won by Micah Kogo and Haile Gebrselassie.
2017
On 4 February, Klosterhalfen run the 3000m race at the World Indoor Tour meet Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe in Karlsruhe. She finished 6th out of 9 starters with a time of 8:51.75, a new personal best. The event was won by Laura Muir with 8:26.41, a new European indoor record and the 5th best on the all time indoor list. Hellen Obiri became the runner-up in a time of 8:29.46.Klosterhalfen's first major senior medal came at the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships on 4 March, when she came second to Laura Muir to claim silver in the 1500m.
On 8 June, Klosterhalfen ran the 1500m at the Diamond League meet Golden Gala – Pietro Mennea in Rome. With her time of 3:59.30, she became the first German woman to cover this distance in less than 4 minutes since 1990.
At the 117th edition of the German Athletics Championships in Erfurt on 9 July, Klosterhalfen's 1500m winning time of 3:59.58 became a new championship record. Diana Sujew took the silver in 4:10.71.
Klosterhalfen went to the European U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz, from 13–16 July. She won the 1500m final in 4:10.30, silver medalist Sofia Ennaoui and Martyna Galant completed the podium.
Klosterhalfen competed at the Diamond League meet Müller Grand Prix Birmingham in Birmingham on 20 August. Sifan Hassan won the 3000m event in 8:28.90, with her following in at 8:29.89, a new national record. With this run, she improved on her personal best by nearly 17 seconds and Irina Mikitenko's German national record by half a second. Her time was the first German women's record in a non-hurdle track event since 2000.
World Championships in Athletics
Klosterhalfen went to the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London, from 4–13 August. In the 1500m heats, she ranked 10th out of 44 starters with 4:03.60. In the semi-finals she ran a time of 4:06.58, the 16th best among 24 starters, and failed to move to the final.
At the European Cross Country Championships in Šamorín on 10 December, Klosterhalfen placed second in the U23 women's division. On a 6.28km course, Alina Reh finished 3 seconds ahead of her. Germany took the silver in the team ranking.
Klosterhalfen returned to the Bitburger-Silvesterlauf in Trier on 31 December. She won the 5k Sparkassen-Elite-Lauf der Frauen for her second time. The run was won with a new personal best of 15:34 minutes.
2018
At the German Athletics Indoor Championships in Dortmund on 18 February, her 21st birthday, Klosterhalfen set a new national record in the 3000m with 8:36.01. It was an improvement by more than 5 seconds on the record formerly held by Kathrin Ullrich set in 1988. She lowered her personal best for the 3000m by nearly 16 seconds.At the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham on 1 March, Klosterhalfen placed 7th in the 3000m final with a time of 8:51.79.
European Championships in Athletics
The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, from 6–12 August. Klosterhalfen finished 4th in the 5000m final on 12 August. With her time of 15:03.73, she missed the podium by 6.10 seconds. The victory went to Sifan Hassan with 14:46.12.
2019
Klosterhalfen won the 5000m race at the World Indoor Tour meet New Balance Indoor Grand Pix in Boston, MA on 27 January. She crossed the finish line after 15:15.80, the third fastest time for a German woman. Jenny Simpson finished second in 15:33.38. It had been Klosterhalfen's first victory in the World Indoor Tour, she received a prize of $ 3000.On 9 February, Klosterhalfen won the indoor mile run at the NYRR Millrose Games in New York City, NY with a time of 4:19.98. This time placed her fifth on the all-time list. In addition, she broke the German national record set 31 years before and the 1500m national indoor record with her intermediate split. Steeplechase runner Colleen Quigley came in in second placed with 4:22.86.
At the German Athletics Indoor Championships in Leipzig on 16 February, Klosterhalfen beat her German national record in the 3000m with 8:32.47, an improvement by more than 3 seconds on her record in 2018. It was her eighth German national title.
Klosterhalfen ran at the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow on 1 March. She finished as the runner-up in the 3000m event. The winner was Laura Muir with 8:30.61, her own time of 8:34.06 placed her second.
At the Diamond League meet Prefontaine Classic in Stanford, CA on 30 June, Klosterhalfen finished second in the 3000m with a new national record of 8:20.07, a nearly 10-second improvement on her own German national record set about two years prior. Her time ranks her the sixth fastest woman over the 3000m distance in sports history. The run was won in a time of 8:18.49, a new European record by Sifan Hassan.
At the German Athletics Championships in Berlin on 3 August, Klosterhalfen set a new national record in the 5000m with a time of 14:26.76, a massive improvement on her former personal best of 14:51.38. Her time ranks her the thirteenth fastest woman over the 5000m distance in sports history. The former German national record of 14:42.03 was set by Irina Mikitenko in 1999.
On 18 August, Klosterhalfen beat the existing German national record for the mile run, in windy conditions. At the Diamond League meet Müller Grand Prix Birmingham in Birmingham, she placed first in the 1 Mile Women – Millicent Fawcet run with 4:21.11, 0.48 seconds faster than the former record, held by Ulrike Bruns, from 1985. With this time, she improved on her personal best by just over 3 seconds, and claimed her first victory in the IAAF Diamond League. She defeated second-place finisher Gabriela Debues-Stafford with an advantage of 1.36 seconds.
In the 1500m Diamond League Final Weltklasse Zürich in Zurich on 29 August, Klosterhalfen finished second with 3:59.02. The discipline final winner became Sifan Hassan in 3:57.08, Klosterhalfen beat the fourth-placed world record holder Genzebe Dibaba by 1.84 seconds.
Eight days later, Klosterhalfen competed at the 5000m Diamond League Final AG Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on 6 September. Third-placed, Klosterhalfen's time of 14:29.89 beat 2017 world champion Hellen Obiri, who came in fourth, by 4.01 seconds.The final was won by Sifan Hassan with 14:26.26, Letesenbet Gidey became the runner-up with 14:29.54.
World Championships in Athletics
On 5 October, Klosterhalfen won the 5000m bronze medal at the 2019 IAAF World Championships with a time of 14:28.43. The 2017 defending champion Hellen Obiri won in a time of 14:26.72, her Kenyan compatriot Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi became the runner-up with 14:27.49. It was the first 5000m World Championship medal for a German woman.
The termination of the Nike Oregon Project
On 1 October, the USADA banned the head coach of Klosterhalfen's training group Alberto Salazar, and Dr. Jeffery Brown, a colleague at the Oregon Project, for doping offences. These included using a WADA prohibited method, tampering with doping control methods and trafficking testosterone through a prohibited testing program. The case against Salazar and Brown concerns a timeframe before Klosterhalfen was part of the project. At the NOP Klosterhalfen was trained by Salazar's former assistant Pete Julian, who maintained on German television, "We know, we do everything right". On 11 October, Nike decided to shut down its project.
Regarding the closure of Nike's Oregon Project, Klosterhalfen stated:
"It's a first and important decision, specially to protect the present athletes and what they have achieved. Since last week, their and my competition activities were pushed into the background due to this ongoing issue.".
On 24 October, the Portland paper "The Oregonian" stated that Pete Julian likes to continue supervising seven athletes, formerly members of the Nike Oregon Project, among them Klosterhalfen. Furthermore, the article highlighted that no NOP athlete has ever failed a drug test nor been credibly accused of doping. Klosterhalfen also confirmed that she will go on with training under the supervision of Julian.
2020
On 26 January, Kosterhalfen participated in the first 1500m race of the World Athletics Indoor Tour in Boston. She placed second with 4:04.38 in front of Ciara Mageean who finished in 4:06.42, a new Irish indoor record. The race was won by Australian runner Jessica Hull in 4:04.14, an improvement on the Oceanian indoor record by more than two seconds.As the defending champion, Klosterhalfen placed second in the indoor mile run at the NYRR Millrose Games in New York City on 8 February. The event was won by Elinor Purrier with a new NACAC record of 4:16.85, the second fastest time ever. Purrier's former personal best was 4:24.88 set in 2019. The world record holder is Genzebe Dibaba with 4:13.31 set in 2016. Klosterhalfen finished in 4:17.26, an almost 3 second improvement on her personal best and a new national record, the fourth fastest time ever. She also bettered her 1500m time en route with 3:59.87, another new national record. Third placed finisher was Jemma Reekie with 4:17.88, a new national record and the 5th fastest time ever. Gabriela Debues-Stafford finished fourth in 4:19.73, a new national record and the eighth place on the all-time list. The first four placed women also set new 1500m national records en route.
On 27 February, Klosterhalfen set a European record in the indoor 5000m event. The former area record was 14:47.35 set by Gabriela Szabo in 1999. Klosterhalfen won the competition at the Boston University Last Chance Invitational meet in 14:30.79 which placed her 4th in the all time ranking. The world record in this event was set by Genzebe Dibaba with 14:18.86 in Stockholm on 19 February 2015. Klosterhalfen's winning time marks a 45 seconds improvement on her previous personal best 15:15.80 set in 2019 in Boston. Her final 200m split was recorded with 31.6 seconds, Vanessa Fraser from the U.S. became the runner-up with 14:48.51, her compatriot Emily Infeld ran to third place in 14:51.91. Fraser ran the second fastest NACAC time. In comparison to Fraser's performance, the NACAC area record is held by Shalane Flanagan with 14:47.62 set in Boston in 2009.
Konstanze Klosterhalfen 27 February 2020 5000m split times
| Distance interval | Time | Split |
| 1k | 2:57.51 | 2:57.51 |
| 2k | 5:54.23 | 2:56.72 |
| 3k | 8:50.04 | 2:55.81 |
| 4k | 11:43.49 | 2:53.45 |
| 5k | 14:30.79 | 2:47.30 |