Flanders’ finest set their sights on Olympic glory
The rising stars and the medal hopefuls are looking to make a mark at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this month
Road to Rio
From cyclist Greg Van Avermaet to golfer Nicolas Colsaerts to Yanina Wickmayer in tennis to the four (count ’em all) Borlée runners, there are a plethora of real medal chances.
When the 109-strong Belgian squad marches out in Rio’s Maracanã Stadium for the 5 August opening ceremony, they will be hoping to seize their moment. They know the odds are stacked against them: there is only ever one champion in each discipline, and two other medallists on the podium. And despite its success at fostering top level footballers, tennis players and cyclists in recent years, Belgium has underperformed at the Olympics.
It’s eight years since Belgium brought back a gold medal from the games, when Tia Hellebaut won the high jump in Beijing in 2008. London 2012 was a miserable experience, with only two bronzes, for Evi Van Acker in the Laser Radial sailing and Charline Van Snick in judo, and a silver for Lionel Cox in the 50m rifle prone.
In with a chance
Van Acker, who also competed in Beijing in 2008, took bronze in the 2014 World Championships in Santander. The other sailors with her in Rio are six-time Belgian champion Wannes Van Laer in the Laser and Yannick Lefèbvre and Tom Pelsmaekers in the 49er.
Four other Belgian judokas will be in Rio this summer with Van Snick, including two Flemings: Dirk Van Tichelt, who won the 2008 European Championships and came fifth at the 2008 Olympics, and Jasper Lefevere.
It’s eight years since Belgium brought back a gold medal from the games
One of the strongest medal contenders will be Moroccan-born, Wilrijk-trained Jaouad Achab in the taekwondo, who won the 2014 European Championships and the 2015 World Championships. Iranian-born Raheleh Asemani, a bronze medallist in this year’s European Championships, is also in with a chance in the women’s taekwondo.
In cycling, the road race includes Greg Van Avermaet, who came eighth in this year’s Tour de France green jersey ranking for sprinters, won stage five and led the race for three days. He is supported by Serge Pauwels, who was sixth in the polka-dot climbing ranking and 13th in the points.
Recent Tour of Poland winner Tim Wellens and 20-year-old Laurens De Plus will also be in the road race team, with Wellens competing in the time trial as well. Three Flemish women are competing in the road race: Ann-Sophie Duyck, Lotte Kopecky and Anisha Vekemans, with Duyck and Kopecky also going for the time trial.
Recognisable stars
But those are far from the only Flemish riders in Rio. In track racing there are two in the omnium, a six-race event over two days: Jasper De Buyst for the men and Jolien D’hoore for the women. Ruben Scheire and Jens Schuermans are in the men’s mountain biking, with Githa Michiels in the women’s. And Elke Vanhoof is competing for a BMX medal.
Two of Belgium’s most recognisable sports stars will be on the tennis courts: Kirsten Flipkens and Yanina Wickmayer are hoping to emulate Justine Henin, who took gold at the 2004 games in Athens. The timing is particularly good for Wickmayer, who reached a respectable third round in this year’s French Open, and last month won her fifth career WTA tour title when she clinched the Washington Open.
The extraordinary Borlée family is based around Brussels’ Stade Fallon
Perhaps the most promising medal prospects are in the Borlée family from Brussels: twins Kevin and Jonathan are running in the 400m and are joined by younger brother Dylan in the 400m relay. Add to that their sister, Olivia, running in the 200m, who already has a silver medal from the 100m relay in Beijing in 2008.
The extraordinary family is based around Brussels’ Stade Fallon but has spent time at Florida State University, a prestigious athletics college where Kevin studied physiotherapy and Jonathan economics.
Led by the Borlée boys, the relay team is dominant in Europe: they are the 2012 and 2016 European relay champions, and the 2015 European indoor champions. They came an agonising fourth in London in 2012. In the 400m individual final, Kevin came fifth and Jonathan sixth in a race in which – bar an Australian – the other runners were all from the Caribbean.
The track team includes Bashir Abdi, a Somalian-Belgian athlete now based in Ghent who is competing in both the 5,000m and 10,000m. Koen Naert, who finished seventh in last year’s Berlin marathon, is running the marathon along with Willem van Schuerbeeck. And Pieter-Jan Hannes, the 2013 European under-23 champion, is competing in the 1,500m.
Genuine medal hope
Among the women, Anne Zagré, who broke the national record with a time of 12.92 seconds in the 100m hurdles, is competing in her second Olympics; Veerle Dejaeghere, who ran in the 1,500m in the 2000 and 2008 games, is in the marathon; Renée Eykens is running the 800m; and Axelle Dauwens is in the 400m hurdles.
The Borlées are not the only siblings competing: Lianne and Yuhan Tan, born to a Bilzen mother and an Indonesian father, both dominate the Belgian badminton scene, and both competed in London four years ago.
Belgium is sending 10 swimmers to Rio, but there is tension among the men in the 100m and 200m freestyle relay teams. Pieter Timmers, who holds nine Belgian records and seven national titles, has announced he will not compete in the individual 200m, as he wants to concentrate on the relay team.
Relay teammate Louis Croenen is not following suit, and is competing in both the 200m individual freestyle and butterfly events. Timmers has lashed out, saying, “Louis is not a team player.”
Timmers himself is competing in both the 100m freestyle relay and individual events, while 200m relay teammates Glenn Surgeloose and Emmanuel Vanluchene are also competing in the individual 200m freestyle events (with Surgeloose in the 100m as well). If they can overcome their tiff, they could be in with a good chance in both the 100m and 200m relays.
Young and old
For the first time since 1948, Belgium can name a full team to compete in women’s artistic gymnastics at the Olympics. The five-woman team includes two-time individual Olympian Gaelle Mys, three-time World Championships team member Laura Waem (she will turn 19 on the day of the opening ceremony), first-year seniors Nina Derwael (16) and Senna Deriks (15), as well as Rune Hermans.
While the gymnasts are the youngest, the most senior Belgian competitor is 53-year-old Joris Vanspringel in individual equestrian eventing. Karin Donckers is in the women’s eventing, while Nicola Philippaerts (son of four-time Olympian Ludo Philippaerts) is competing in the jumping.
Other notable Olympians include Claire Michel and Katrien Verstuyft in the triathlon; Robin Ramaekers in archery; and Ryder Cup player Nicolas Colsaerts and Thomas Pieters in golf.
Finally, the men’s hockey side will be hoping they can maintain their steady rise through the ranks. The Red Lions have emerged in recent years as a new power in the game and were runners-up in both the 2013 European Championships and the 2014–15 Men’s FIH Hockey World League.
Photo courtesy Team Belgium
