Rob Jetten: Ex-athlete setting the pace in Dutch politics

As a talented junior athlete, Rob Jetten once ran as a pacesetter for future Olympic champion Sifan Hassan. Now the 38-year-old is setting his own pace at the head of Dutch politics after a stunning win for his centrist D66 party in Wednesday's vote. Just like Hassan, who won the Paris Olympic marathon with an astonishing late surge, Jetten timed his own political run perfectly. With a positive message and youthful energy, Jetten dragged the D66 from fifth in the polls with a month to go.

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Exit polls on Wednesday suggested he had won the election with 27 seats, beating far-right leader Geert Wilders into second place. "We have run a very positive campaign because we want to get rid of all the negativism in the Netherlands over the past few years," he told AFP. "I want to bring the Netherlands back to the heart of Europe because without European cooperation, we are nowhere," he added. Jetten has had a head-spinning rise up the political hierarchy. Entering parliament at the tender age of 30, he became leader of the D66 just a year later, the youngest ever to hold the post.