On August 16 Rosius burst onto the scene by setting a time of 11:39 on her way to the Belgian 100m title. Rosius became the second fastest Belgian of all time behind Kim Gevaert (11:04). Twelve years after Gevaert hung up the spikes, Belgium may have a found a new sprint phenom.
"I only started in athletics when I was 13 or 14,” Rosius said. “Before that I practised gymnastics at a pretty high level. But I got into athletics through cross country running at school.”
You would expect Gevaert to be Rosius’ idol, but her late start in athletics meant that she only started well after Gevaert’s retirement. “To be honest, I didn’t really know anything about athletics when I started,” Rosius admitted.
"Of course I now know what Kim achieved and I dream of starring at the Olympic Games just like she did. I think it’s an honour to be called the new Kim Gevaert, although it also adds extra pressure.”
And what does Kim Gevaert know about Rani Rosius? “I’m happy we’ve got a new Belgian sprint talent,” Gevaert said. "On Friday I’ll get to see her run live for the first time. I hear she has a great final jump and that’s a big asset. The start is really technical. I can imagine there’s still some room for improvement there.”
“Another tip I can give is to not get star struck. Don’t look at what the other big name athletes are doing during the warm-up, just do your own thing and run inside your tunnel.”
Rosius doesn’t have any expectations of her AG Memorial Van Damme debut. “I have no idea. I am just going to run and give it everything I have. And then we will see where I end up. A new personal record? We’ll see."
If Rosius does end up breaking the Belgian 100m record, current record holder Gevaert will be the first to cheer. “I’ve been waiting for a long time for someone to break that record. Maybe one day my own daughters will do it, but I’m happy for Rani to do it as well,” she laughed.
If that happens, then Rosius can truly be called the new Kim Gevaert.
