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“There’s no better place to run my last 1500 metres before the World Championships than Brussels,” said Verheyden, who broke Jochem Vermeulen’s Belgian record at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris on 20 June. 3:30.99 is the new standard. “In July, I attended altitude training in Sankt Moritz, Switzerland, and I am looking forward to running in front of my home crowd on Friday. I don’t feel any extra pressure. I have already competed in World Championships and the Olympic Games and have run many Diamond League races in large stadiums against world-class athletes over the past year.”
For Pieter Sisk, Friday’s 1500 metres is also a final big test before the World Championships in Tokyo in September, where he will compete in the 1500 metres and the 800 metres. The 25-year-old from Leuven also went to Sankt Moritz for training and reaped the rewards on 10 August by smashing Ivo Van Damme’s 49-year-old Belgian record in the 1000 metres at the IFAM in Oordegem. “It’s great to be able to run the Memorial on Friday, especially because lots of friends and family will be in the stands. That will definitely make me run faster, even if it’s only 0.01%.”
Is Sisk hoping for a fast time on Friday or a good ranking? “If I have to choose, I’d rather go for a good ranking, that always looks good in a Wanda Diamond League meeting. There are 18 very strong runners at the start; a place in the top 5 to 7 would be great. I’m also really looking forward to the African drummers, who always create a great atmosphere and rhythm at the Memorial during all the middle and long-distance events. That will definitely give me a boost.”
Verheyden is certainly hoping for a fast race on Friday. “I believe a new Belgian record is doable. A time under 3:30 should be achievable,” says the 24-year-old from Lebbeke ambitiously. “But if it doesn’t work out on Friday, I won’t mope. There will be plenty of opportunities later,” said Verheyden, who became European Champion in the U23 1500 metres in 2021. At last year’s European Championships in Rome, Verheyden finished fourth. He was not the first Belgian to do so, as Jochem Vermeulen took silver in Italy.
Last week, Vermeulen made his comeback on the circuit after months of injury. “It’s great that he’s back, we have three very strong Belgians again,” Verheyden says in encouragement of his “rival”. “It’s not easy to come back after a long period without competitions, but his performance in Leuven was at least very promising.”
“Over the past 18 months, all Belgian records in the middle distance have been broken,” Sisk adds. “And all by different athletes. I think it’s an understatement to say that our generation of Belgian athletes is doing very well,” smiles the Belgian 1500-metre champion. And they will undoubtedly prove that again on Friday at the 49th edition of the Allianz Memorial Van Damme…