Vanderelst Runs Belgian Record, Carabin Shows his Paralympic Top Form

Maxime Carabin won two gold medals for Belgium at the Paralympic Games. The man from Namur emerged victorious in both the 100 metres and the 400 metres in the T52 class in Paris. At the King Baudouin Stadium, Carabin was selected to compete in the 400 metres. He did not disappoint. He won his race by a large margin in 54.83 - faster than the 55.10 that made him Paralympic champion - ahead of Switzerland’s Fabian Blum (1:06.33), the number five in Paris.

In the Wanda Diamond League 1500 metres Final, Elise Vanderelst came 11th in a very strong field of competitors, led by three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon, but most importantly she set a new Belgian record. 4:01.26 was considerably better than 4:02.63 in 2021.

Eliott Crestan also did particularly well in the final of the 800 metres. He finished fifth in 1:43.74. The same place was awarded to Thomas Carmoy in the high jump. He cleared 2m22. Paulien Couckuyt finished sixth in the 400-metre hurdles in 55.66. Seventh place was for pole vaulter Elien Vekemans (4m40) and javelin thrower Timothy Herman (76m46).

Six Belgians competed in extra sprint events that the organisers put on the programme, no Wanda Diamond League Finals. In the 200 metres, Delphine Nkansa took third place in 23.03, equalling her personal record. Rani Rosius finished seventh in 23.56.

In the men's 100 metres, Kobe Vleminckx was the fastest Belgian in 10.29. This put him second behind Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala (10.07). Simon Verherstraeten (10.33) came fourth, Antoine Snyders (10.65) seventh and Ibrahim Camara (10.80) eighth.