Carl Lewis, Mike Boit and Dwight Stones in Hall of Fame

The annual gala dinner at Brussels Town Hall on the eve of the Allianz Memorial Van Damme honoured the athletes being inducted into the Memorial’s Hall of Fame this year: Carl Lewis, Dwight Stones and Mike Boit.

The Hall of Fame is the Allianz Memorial Van Damme’s hall of honour. Each year, a jury chaired by Wilfried Meert adds new names: athletes who, through their exceptional performances, personality and charisma, have helped shape the history of the Memorial. They will also be honoured this weekend during the Memorial’s opening ceremony at the King Baudouin Stadium.

CARL LEWIS

Carl Lewis was the superstar of athletics in the 1980s and 1990s. A few weeks after the sprinter and long jumper had won four gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, he also shone at the Memorial. The American won the long jump there with a leap of 8.65 metres, a phenomenal jump at sea level. It still stands as the meeting record – the oldest meeting record in Brussels.

In 1997, at the age of 36, Lewis brought his illustrious career to a close, having amassed nine Olympic titles. ‘King Carl’ competed at the Memorial eight times and, over the years, delighted the crowds with victories in the long jump and the 100 and 200 metres.

MIKE BOIT

Mike Boit is a pioneer of Kenyan athletics. He won the 800 metres at the very first Memorial Van Damme in 1977, a distance at which the late Ivo Van Damme had won silver just a year earlier at the Olympic Games in Montreal. Boit himself won bronze at the 1972 Games in Munich. He was the very first Kenyan athlete to compete on the international meeting circuit.

DWIGHT STONES

Dwight Stones is one of the greatest high jumpers of his generation and a contemporary of Ivo Van Damme. The American won the high jump at the first Memorial with a jump of 2.27 metres. During his career, he broke the world record three times and won two Olympic bronze medals.

Hall of Fame
2026: Carl Lewis
2026: Mike Boit
2026: Dwight Stones
2025: Aries Merritt
2025: William Van Dijck
2024: Michael Johnson
2023: Sergey Bubka
2023: Marie-José Pérec
2023: Asafa Powell
2022: Jackie Joyner-Kersee
2022: Paul Tergat
2022: Daniel Komen
2021: Mike Powell
2021: Blanka Vlasic
2019: Willie Banks
2019: Gail Devers
2019: Sebastian Coe
2018: Merlene Ottey
2018: Hicham El Guerrouj
2018: Kim Gevaert
2018: Tia Hellebaut
2017: Heike Drechsler
2017: Steve Cram
2017: Wilfried Meert