It is almost customary for a Norwegian athlete to attempt an ambitious double - or even treble - at a major age-group event and Henriette Jaeger will be following suit on home soil at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen from 17-20 July.
Over the course of the next four days, Jaeger is planning to contest the 200m and 400m individually as well as the 4x400m relay on the last day of the championships.
And who better than Karsten Warholm, who doubled up in the 400m and 400m hurdles at the 2017 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz where he came away with silver and gold respectively, to seek out for some advice?
“I remember that Karsten did the 400m and 400m hurdles back in 2017 so I called him on FaceTime and he gave me some advice. He said: 'you just need to believe in yourself, have fun, conserve your energy and do your best.' He talked a little about planning. That you have to plan your efforts for the heats and semifinals," she said.
Jaeger won silver in the 400m two years ago in a home straight tussle behind Great Britain’s Yemi Mary John - who will be defending her title - but notwithstanding her frenetic racing schedule, Jaeger begins as the outstanding favourite to upgrade to gold on home soil.
Jaeger almost ruined the Dutch party for Lieke Klaver by pushing her all the way to the line in the 400m final at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn. Since then, Jaeger has improved to 49.62 which also puts the long-standing championship record of 50.72 very much into view.
“This is the highlight for many athletes in Norway and this is absolutely the main goal. I have looked forward to it for a long time. Doing both the 200m and 400m is also good training for the World Championships in Tokyo,” said Jaeger.
Reigning champion Nillessen also on double duty in Bergen
Another athlete who is embarking on an ambitious double in Bergen is reigning European U23 1500m champion Stefan Nillessen who is adding the 3000m steeplechase to his workload at these championships.
Nillessen made his breakthrough at these championships by winning the 1500m title two years ago. The 22-year-old has surged through the ranks since then, finishing ninth in an epic 1500m final at the 2024 Olympic Games and taking his country’s national 1500m record down to 3:29.23.
"The 1500m will definitely stay the preference and this is what I train for mostly. And the 3000m steeplechase, I wanted to try something out and see what I can do there. I ran the qualifying time on my home track so let's see what I can do," said Nillessen.
Nillessen has only attempted the 3000m steeplechase once, clocking a creditable 8:32.78 on his home track in Nijmegen in May to qualify for these championships.
His second competitive outing over the barriers will be in the 3000m steeplechase heats which are on the schedule for Saturday morning, only five hours before he is expected to toe the start-line again in the 1500m final.
"Maybe doing both events is a risk but I think it's fun. At the European Cross Country Championships I also did the two events [mixed relay and individual U23 race] and I only had half-a-hour so four and a half hours extra should be fine, right?” he said.