) is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 hurdler

110 metres hurdles

The 110 metres hurdles is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is incuded in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metre hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurdles of 1.067 metres in height are evenly spaced along a straight...

 and tax attorney.

He reached his first international final at the 2007 European Indoor Championships

2007 European Indoor Championships in Athletics

The 29th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, from Friday, 2 March to Sunday, 4 March 2007...

 in 60 metres hurdles

60 metres hurdles

60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 60 metres including the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds and 7.30 seconds ,...

, and won the silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 behind compatriot Gregory Sedoc

Gregory Sedoc

Gregory Sedoc is a Dutch hurdler.He reached his first international final at the 2007 European Indoor Championships in 60 metres hurdles, and won the event, equalling his personal best time of 7.63 seconds which was established in the previous rounds and beating fellow-countryman Marcel van der...

.

Van der Westen had previously competed at the 2005 World Championships

2005 World Championships in Athletics

The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...

 and the 2006 European Championships

2006 European Championships in Athletics

The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...

, as well as numerous European Indoor (2002, 2005

2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships

The 28th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, from Friday, 4 March to Sunday, 6 March 2005.-Men:...

) and World Indoor Championships (2003

2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK from 14 March to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK...

, 2004

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004...

, 2006

2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olimpiyski Sport arena....

), without ever reaching the final.

His personal best time over 110 m hurdles is 13.43 seconds, achieved in June 2005 in Leiria

Leiria

Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...

.

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