Paris 23 Worlds: Fleur Jong’s journey to greatness only just starting

Set a record, win a gold medal. Set another record, win another gold medal. Set a record, become the greatest on the planet. 

Fleur Jong does not do ordinary. Not on the track, not off it. What Fleur Jong does is consistently at a level above everybody else she encounters, and it is driven by a high desire to be the version of herself she always knew was in there. 

Looking from the outside, it seems difficult for Fleur to ever improve on what she has done in these past two years. There was a world record performance at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the long jump, coming not too far after glory at the Europeans in both the long jump and 100m.

But 2023 has seen an even better, even stronger version of this Dutch dynamo emerge onto the international stage. But has it surprised even the athlete herself? 

“A little bit, to be honest! To do a jump like that [6.34m] in February, that was a surprise. [The event] was not running smoothly, but to turn it around I was just super happy and super proud. So maybe I need to think a little bit bigger,” she said.

And since speaking, Jong opted to break her own world record, this time in the 100m T62. Her 12.40 at the Nottwil World Para Athletics Grand Prix was another warning sign to those in her field that if they thought Jong had peaked, they were mistaken. As Fleur effectively labelled it on Instagram, her Grand Prix was truly on fire.

World record! ⚡️

Fleur Jong reaches new heights at #Nottwil2023 with a super fast 12.40 in the women's 100m T62.#ParaAthletics | @SwissParalympic pic.twitter.com/0A9OyYfFwT

— #ParaAthletics #PARIS23 (@ParaAthletics) May 27, 2023

Those two Grand Prix’s started an 18 months that is perhaps more important than any that has ever come in the history of Para athletics. This year, there is the 2023 World Championships in Paris. Then there is the Kobe 2024 Worlds, returning to the nation of Jong’s greatest ever triumph. And then back to Paris, for the 2024 Paralympic Games.

“It’s a nice position to be in” a relaxed Jong explained. “It’s actually going to be my first World Championships where I can go for the title, because these past few years when I’ve been this good, there haven’t been any. And I don’t have a Worlds title yet, it’s the one that’s still missing. But I’m not taking anything for granted.”

Frantic five years

The three majors will be the culmination of a frantic five years in the life of Jong. Her last Worlds (Dubai 2019) came before everything in her world clicked together. There she rounded off her campaign with a fourth and seventh placed finish, but within two years she had a Paralympic gold. 

It has been some time coming, but it could almost have been the inevitable end point for an athlete who is so dedicated to her sport. 

And having been so driven to reach the top, Jong has taken the changes that come with them. Additional media attention, increased sponsorship opportunities. But most importantly, it has given her a position to inspire the next generation.

“I did a global campaign where it was all about inclusion, just all about being an athlete. So I'm really aware that being a Paralympic champion now also opens a lot of doors and I hope to inspire many more with it so that I can actually use my medal to make the world a little bit more aware, a little bit more inclusive and a little nicer.”

It is something Jong has always had high on her to-do list. To give back to the sport that found her and gave her a purpose and a drive from childhood. Beginning at a talent day, Fleur found her love for Para athletics after being approached by a coach who spotted a youngster enthused for sport. 

“He did something clever” she said about the coach who first brought her into sport. “He gave his phone number and said: ‘call whenever you want to get started and then we will.’ It made me remember [Para athletics] and the sport had all the basic skills too. And for me, with having newly prosthetic legs, it was very practical. It would teach me how to walk properly, how to jump, how to throw. So it was just a very smart choice.”

Effectively, sport gave Fleur a new opportunity and a new chance in life. Her time at the talent day happened so early into her journey that she was still awaiting one of her prosthetics. And once a week of training became twice, three times, and then every day. The gradual progression from sports enjoyer to fanatic happened over a number of years, but when it did happen it was at pace. 

“Once I actually got started, I just really, really liked it from the start because there was always something to improve and it didn't really matter what kind of level you had. So I was training with the Paralympic track and field team, but I didn't even have blades or anything. I was just on the daily prosthetics. But I wanted to get as good as them, get blades and take the next step. It grew out of hand, but I was in love very fast.”

Long jump. Jong jump.

What a performance from @FleurJong_ #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics #ParaAthletics @ParaAthletics pic.twitter.com/oAI4cHiALs

— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 28, 2021

And having stuck with the same coach from her upbringing in the sport, that journey from hopeful youngster to world leader is one that she has been able to track with a familiar face at every step of the way. 

“We’ve been through a lot, from the beginning to where we are now. And we have to figure out ways still to make changes, to see things. Sometimes what he sees is not what I feel, sometimes I cannot understand what he means and then he has to challenge me in a different way so that I understand what I need to do. So it’s still like a play. We work together to figure it out together. 

“But this is my eighth year in track, so of course it has gotten easier. And with World Championships, it’s just different to others. And when I’ve been, I’d not been the best until 2020. In all those Championships, I was battling to make it to the final, to sometimes get on the podium, getting fourth a lot. It taught me so much so that now I know what I have to do so that I’m battling for the titles, not just to get a medal.”

The Paris 23 World Championships will be unprecedented for Jong. Heading in with two world records, a Paralympic gold and a season she could barely have dreamt of this early on, she has the world in her hands. And for an individual who has dealt with the utmost pressure in recent years, getting the chance to add a brand new gold medal to her collection is seemingly the next logical step in this fantastic career.