Meeting Director Kim Gevaert: "I am expecting explosive times on this super-fast new track"

"We are super happy with all the renovations to the stadium, especially the new track," Gevaert said. "The track at the King Baudouin Stadium has always been a good track, but it was really worn down to the bone. It was high time for a new one. It was fine for sprinters, but the old track had become too hard for distance runners. Over the years, a lot of progress has been made in terms of equipment and knowhow. A brand-new track like this gives back so much more energy with every stride you make. But also, the new generation of spikes contributes to running faster and faster."
 
Apart from that, the track at the King Baudouin Stadium has a reputation for being fast anyway. "That has to do with the curvature of the track," Gevaert explains. "Obviously, each lap is 400 metres long, but not every track has the same curvature. Here in Brussels, we have a not too sharp last curve for the 200 and 400-metre runners, which makes it ideal for sprinters entering the last straight." Summarising, the Meeting Director said: "The brand-new track that is in pristine condition, the modern spikes, the fast curve and the warm weather predicted for Friday mean that the conditions for an evening of top athletics are ideal and explosive times are in the air!"
 
Attack on World and European Records
 
"To start with, I expect a top time from Dutch World Champion Femke Bol in the 400-metre hurdles," says Gevaert. "I am also very curious to see Jamaican Shericka Jackson in the 200 metres. At the World Championships in Budapest, she ran the second fastest time ever. She will fly over our super-fast new track too. A new World Record? It’s impossible to predict and does not come to order." Although Jackson herself said just after the World Championships, "I will continue to work really hard, and I think I can maintain this level for a while. That World Record, I'm close, really close, I'm going to get there..."
 
Two athletes who are ready and clearly announced that they will attempt to break records are Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Bashir Abdi. The Norwegian is attacking the 2,000 metres World Record and the man from Ghent is going for the 10,000 metres European record. "Bashir is very much looking forward to it, he has already told me a few times personally. As a marathon runner, it is a unique experience to be cheered on by more than 35,000 spectators, he misses the stadium atmosphere. I hope he breaks the record. And of course, my fingers are crossed for Jakob Ingebrigtsen as well."
 
Can we expect a World Record in any of the field disciplines? "With pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, there is always a World Record in the air. Mondo has become the crowd favourite in Belgium. It's pleasing to the eye to see him at work. Hopefully, Ben Broeders can achieve a nice result." The public will be able to see around 20 Belgian athletes in action on Friday evening, including of course the Belgian star of the World Championships: Cynthia Bolingo in the 400 metres.
 
Powell, Bubka and Pérec as Guests of Honour
 
The renovated track of the King Baudouin Stadium was officially inaugurated on Tuesday evening, in attendance were Brussels Mayor Philippe Close, Alderman for Sport Benoit Hellings, Memorial Chairman Wilfried Meert and former Jamaican top sprinter Asafa Powell, five-time winner of the 100 metres at the Memorial. Powell will be officially inducted into the Memorial's Hall of Fame on Wednesday evening during the annual gala dinner of the Allianz Memorial Van Damme at the City Hall in Brussels.
 
Ukrainian pole-vaulting legend Sergey Bubka and France's Marie-José Pérec, who caused a furore in the 200 and 400 metres in the mid-90s, will also receive that honour. All three will also be guests of honour at the 47th Memorial at the King Baudouin Stadium on Friday night.