For the first time in a year the Belgian heptathlete Nafi Thiam will compete at an athletic meeting this weekend. The three-times Olympic gold medalist will compete in the 100m hurdles and the long jump at the Belgian Athletics Championships in Brussels.
30-year-old Thiam, who will compete in the 100m hurdles and the long jump, has not competed anywhere since August 2024 when she won her third success Olympic gold medal in Paris.
The most important event in her calendar this year is the World Championships that are being held in Tokyo from 13-21 September. Following her victories at the 2017 and 2022 World Championships Nafi Thiam will be hoping to take her third heptathlon world title.
Nafi Thiam is also scheduled to compete in the high jump in the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on 22 August.
Seeking qualification
At total of 17 Belgian athletes have qualified for the World Championships so far. 12 of them will be competing at the Belgian Athletics Championships that will take place at the King Boudewijn Stadium in Brussels on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 August.
Elise Vanderelst and Jana Van Lent will compete in the 5,000m. Elise Vanderelst has already qualified for the 1,500m but 5,000m is her preferred distance. Paulien Couckuyt will run the 400m hurdles and Naomi Van den Broeck the 400m.
In the men’s events, Eliott Crestan and Ruben Verheyden will compete in the 800m. Alexander Doom will run the 200m, Daniel Segers will compete in the 400m and Pieter Sisk in the 1,500m. Ben Broeders will compete in the pole vault.
Both the heptathlete Noor Vidts and middle-distance runner Jochem Vermeulen are out with injuries. Meanwhile, the Marathon runners Bashir Abdi and Koen Naert are not expected to compete.
15 athletes that have not yet secured a place at the World Championship but could still do so through the rankings will also be competing in Brussels.
Among the women still hoping to secure a World Championships place are Rani Rosius and Delphine Nkansa in the 100m, Imke Vervaet in the 200m and Helena Ponette in the 400m.
Among the men are Michael Obasuyi and Elie Bacari in the 110m hurdles, Jonathan Sacoor in the 400m, and Thomas Carmoy and Jef Vermeiren in the high jump.