Kirsten Nieuwendam enters her second season with the Peacock women and men's cross country and track and field coaching staff for the 2022-23 seasons. Nieuwendam came to Upper Iowa from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma after serving as a graduate assistant with the Rangers.
Nieuwendam was a volunteer coach with the Texas Tech University track and field team for three years from 2017-20 and served as an assistant coach at the University of Central Florida in 2016-17. The accomplished runner also coached at a pair of high schools in Florida before moving to the collegiate level at UCF.
Nieuwendam qualified for both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games in the 200m race representing Suriname, a country on the northeastern coast of South America. Her top Olympic time came in the London Games of 2012 at 23.47 seconds.
Nieuwendam ran for the Nittany Lions of Penn State University in 2012 as a freshman and claimed a pair of medals at both the Big Ten Outdoor and Indoor Championships. On the outdoor track, she earned a bronze in the 200m and a silver as part of the 4x400m relay team. During the indoor championship, she earned silver medals in the 400m race and the 4x400m relay.
She closed out her collegiate career at Central Florida claiming three more medals during the American Conference's Indoor and Outdoor Championships. She claimed a gold medal in both the indoor 4x400m relay and the outdoor 4x100m relay and a silver medal in the outdoor 4x400m relay.
In addition to her Olympic experience representing Suriname, Nieuwendam also represented the country in several events including World Championships, Pan American Games, Carifta Games and World Junior Championships.
She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies at Central Florida and went on to earn a pair of Master's degrees in business administration and sport business management from UCF and one more Master's degree from Texas Tech in Interdisciplinary Studies.
Nieuwendam holds two USATF coaching certifications including a Level 1 and Level 2 for coaching sprints, hurdles and relays.
