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Nikita den Boer was the surprise winner of the 2020 London Marathon in the women’s wheelchair division, taking the title in 1:40:07 only a year after making her Abbott World Marathon Majors race debut in London. She went on to have a stellar 2021 that included a bronze medal in the Paralympic marathon, in addition to two silver medals and a bronze at the World Para Athletics European Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

She is the Dutch national record-holder over 5,000 meters and was fourth place in the event at the most recent World Para Athletics Championships in 2019.

Den Boer was born with spina bifida and has used a wheelchair since she was 13 years old. She is an ambassador for the Johan Cryuff Foundation, which aims to improve sport opportunities for children with disabilities. She took up wheelchair racing in 2013, originally starting with the sprint distances, and holds a degree in health studies from Nova College in the Netherlands. She now trains at the National Sports Centre Papendal in Arnhem, Netherlands.