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Ruben Querinjean runs for Luxembourg but was born in Belgium and also has the Belgian nationality. That makes his winning time of 8:09.47 in the 3000 metres steeplechase in the Wanda Diamond League at the King Baudouin Stadium on Friday evening a new Luxembourg and Belgian record. Querinjean just beat the 8:10.01 set by William Van Dijck at the 1986 Memorial.
Van Dijck witnessed the record-breaking performance, as the Belgian steeplechase legend was one of the guests of honour at this year’s meeting after being inducted into the Allianz Memorial Van Damme Hall of Fame on Thursday evening. Van Dijck also watched as Tim Van de Velde finished seventh in 8:14.40, a new personal best and 60 hundredths under the World Championship qualifying standard. Van de Velde will therefore defend the Belgian colours at the World Championships in Tokyo next month.
In the women’s 400 metres hurdles, Naomi Van den Broeck finished third in 54.12, an improvement on the Belgian record of 54.33 set by Hanne Claes in 2023. Paulien Couckuyt finished eighth in 55.73. “I’m happy with my race, even though I made a mistake on the last hurdle by taking it with the wrong leg,” said Van den Broeck afterwards. “That actually makes me happy, because there’s still something I can improve on. I hope to put that right in Tokyo and break the 54-second barrier. That’s my goal.”
Jana Van Lent finished tenth in the 5000 metres, but her time was much more important than where she finished. With 14:37.47, she dipped more than 5 seconds under her own Belgian record of 14:42.93, which she had set a month ago in London. Elise Vanderelst, who finished 14th, also beat Van Lent’s time in London with 14:40.70. A new personal best for Vanderelst.
Carmoy on Wanda Diamond League podium
Thomas Carmoy can also look back on the Allianz Memorial Van Damme with satisfaction. He cleared 2.22 metres on his third attempt and 2.25 metres on his third attempt. This earned him second place in the meeting. Oleh Doroshchuk also jumped 2.25 metres, but the Ukrainian had fewer foul jumps in his attempts. Jef Vermeiren finished eighth with 2.14 metres.
A Belgian record was also on the cards in the men’s 1500 metres, but it did not materialise. Ruben Verheyden finished seventh in 3:32.71. Pieter Sisk (eleventh in 3:33.30), and Jochem Vermeulen (twelfth in 3:33.42, his season best) just missed out on the top 10. No sixth Belgian record for Elien Vekemans this year either. The pole vaulter from Leuven finished eighth with 4m54.
Eighth place also went to Timothy Herman (74m72) in the javelin throw, Ilona Masson (13.79) in the triple jump and Kobe Vleminckx (21.40) in the 200 metres. In the 100 metres, Delphine Nkansa sprinted to seventh place with a season best of 11.24, while Rani Rosius finished ninth in 11.42.
Segers’ respectable fourth place, Borlée runs personal best
Daniel Segers finished in a very respectable fourth place (44.90) in the 400 metres. Alexander Doom took seventh place in 45.27. The 400 metres and all the other events mentioned above were part of the Wanda Diamond League. In addition, the programme featured a handful of invitational events, including a second 400-metre race.
In that “B series” of the 400 metres, Dylan Borlée set a new personal best of 44.94. Eliott Crestan also made his mark by winning the 800 metres. His time of 1:43.91 was thanks to a strong final sprint.
Thiam fifth in the long jump
The audience was also eagerly watching the performance of Nafi Thiam. The three-time Olympic heptathlon Champion finished fifth in the long jump with 6m40, 8 cm below her best performance of the season. The victory went to Dutch Paralympic Champion Fleur Jong with 6m77.
The evening concluded with a 4×100 metre mixed relay. The Belgian Falcons’ A team (Verherstraeten, Rosius, Vleminckx, Nkansa) finished second behind the Netherlands in 41.16. The Belgian Falcons B (Kasmi, Vincke, Snyders, De Naeyer) finished third in 41.69.
Belgian Spectators cheer on Bayekula
Like every year, the Allianz Memorial Van Damme also showcased several Paralympic disciplines earlier in the evening. The figurehead of Belgian G athletes, Léa Bayekula, caused an explosion of joy in the stadium by winning the 400 metres (T54) in dominant fashion. The Brussels wheelchair athlete, two-time Paralympic Champion in Paris, finished in 52.24 and was also awarded the Neuhaus Best of Belgium Trophy later in the evening.
In the men’s competition, 18-year-old Johannes Balbaert finished fifth in the 400 metres for wheelers in the T53/54 class with a time of 56.41. In the 100 metres for T63 blade runners, Brussels athlete Ilias Benkaddour finished eighth in 15.38.
