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LIVING & LEARNING | 7 MIN READ

By Kim Donaldson | Images by TPJ Verhoeven Photography and UCU FocusCo)

By the time Laurens van Hofslot crossed the finish line at the Dutch Senior National Championships, placing 8th in the men’s steeplechase, the race had already been won. Not in medals, but in meaning.

“I thought this was never going to happen again,” Laurens reflects. “I had accepted that competing at this level might be behind me. And then—it wasn’t.”

At 22, Laurens is no stranger to overcoming hurdles literal and otherwise. A 2024 graduate of ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� College Utrecht, where he majored in history and political science, Laurens left an imprint not just as a student, but as a community builder. “I was on the student council for one year,” he says. “We helped initiate things like the Dean’s Diversity Initiative, where students and staff learn about a topic related to DEI through workshops and discussions.”

The UCU campus gave Laurens space to grow. “It’s an intense place at times , but also so rewarding,” he says. “You’re pushed to think critically, but you’re also surrounded by people who want to build things together.” That balance , of drive and care , would prove foundational as he stepped more fully into his identity, both on and off the track. “UCU is where I really came into myself, not just academically, but personally,” he reflects. “I felt like I could show up fully, in all the ways that matter.”

But long before he was an elected student leader or a national level athlete, Laurens was a kid who liked to run.

"It’s always been my first love."

Laurens began running at the age of six when a local PE teacher encouraged students to join a celebratory 1km city run as part of the Amersfoort marathon. "It was the first time they held one, and we all signed up," he says. "And I found out… actually, I’m kind of good at this." From those early races, Laurens found not only success, placing near the top of national rankings as a child, but also belonging. "Running has always been the most stable factor in my life," he says. "It’s shaped my priorities, my identity. School was important, but running it’s always been my first love."

It wasn’t just about competition. Laurens fell in love with the sport’s social fabric: the track meets, the atmosphere, the friendships. "Everyone thinks of running as an individual sport, but it’s such a team sport. I’ve always tried to make it one." That spirit of community, and of resilience, would become vital later on.

A steeplechase is never just a race

Laurens discovered the steeplechase, the grueling 3,000-meter event combining long-distance running with 35 hurdles and water jumps, during his youth and was immediately drawn in. "It’s the ultimate combination of speed, strength, and endurance," he says. "Instead of seven and a half laps, I just think—35 barriers. One hurdle at a time." The steeplechase demands commitment. It’s technical, unforgiving, and full of surprises. "Every time I do it, it’s just one more barrier. One more water pit. I like that it has to be honest," Laurens says. "You can’t fake it. You have to fight for every meter." For Laurens, it’s also a metaphor and has helped him find the language to reflect on and tell his story.

"You just solve the same problem over and over from different angles," he says. "And in that sense, it’s a lot like life." When he transitioned from the women’s to the men’s category in athletics, Laurens encountered a new set of challenges. "I always joke that I’d love the steeplechase more if it didn’t have a water pit," he laughs. "But I think now… maybe the water pit is the point."

Choosing both

When Laurens came out as transgender in his early teens, the question of whether he could continue competing felt, for a while, unanswerable. "I thought that race in 2019 might be my last," he says, referencing the junior women’s national championships, where he medaled with a notable personal best. "I thought, if I want to be myself, I have to give this up."

It was a crossroads few people face, choosing between your identity and the thing that defines your joy. "Every time I lined up for a race in the wrong category, under the wrong name, it felt unsafe," Laurens says. "I didn’t belong in the women’s facilities anymore. But I wasn’t allowed in the men’s."

In a sport so strictly divided by gender, Laurens had to consider how transitioning would impact his future in athletics. "When you're younger, it doesn't really matter that much because there's not that big of a difference yet," he says. "But I was always told, you know, boys are better at things than girls. So if I changed categories, I figured I’d automatically no longer be good enough."

That shift came with uncertainty. "They told me I was the only elite athlete they knew of in the Netherlands who’s done this," Laurens says. Without a clear precedent to follow, he and his coach had to chart their own course. "We didn’t have a model, we were just figuring it out as we went."

What followed was a slow, determined re-entry into competitive running—not just rebuilding his performance from scratch, but also his place in the sport. "I had assumed it was either/or," Laurens says. "Either I compete, or I transition. It turns out—it can be both." Since then, he’s been writing a new kind of athletic story.

A breakthrough season

Training in what Laurens calls the "no-man’s land" of national athletics—good enough to qualify, not yet fast enough for elite international heats—requires constant recalibration. He spent the 2024 season chasing a singular goal: to qualify for the Dutch Senior National Championships in the steeplechase. A time-based selection process meant nothing was guaranteed. "It’s not like you run a certain time and you’re in," Laurens explains. "It depends who signs up—and how fast they are."

Battling injury, intense heat, and uncertainty, he managed to clock a season-best performance at the 2025 Dutch National Student Championships and claimed second place. Just weeks later, it was official: Laurens was in. He entered the race ranked 14th, and on 3 August, he finished 8th in the nation, passing 4 competitors in the final lap of the race.

Every time I cross that finish line, I think, wow—I can’t believe I get to do this.

Running forward

For Laurens, being on the track isn’t just about competing. It’s about expanding the frame of what’s possible, quietly, powerfully. "There’s so much debate about trans people in sports," Laurens says. "Especially about trans women. People often forget that athletes like me exist, too."

His story, and his presence at Nationals, offers something rare: a visible, tangible example of possibility. "I used to think: I’m never going to compete again. And now? Now I run faster than I ever dreamed," he says. "Every time I cross that finish line, I think, wow—I can’t believe I get to do this."

Beyond the track, Laurens is pursuing a two-year research master’s in Modern and Contemporary History at Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��. His academic interests, shaped by questions of representation, memory, and the politics of storytelling, mirror his lived experience. "I’ve always been drawn to history and politics," he says. "Because the way we tell stories—who we include, what we leave out—shapes how we understand the world, and how we understand ourselves. I want to tell the stories we don’t always hear.