As a talented junior athlete, Rob Jetten once ran as a pace-setter 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 result 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.

"We've done it," he told jubilant supporters at the election party, on a stage surrounded by a sea of Dutch and European flags.

Exit polls suggested he had won the election with 27 seats, beating far-right leader Geert Wilders into second place, although the final result could yet change.

"We ha

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