Belgium have finished the World Games in Chengdu - the Olympics for non-Olympic disciplines – with 16 medals. The Belgian team won five gold, five silver and six bronze.
The team couldn't match its 20 medals from Birmingham 2022, but delegation leader Gert Van Looy is happy with the results.
“It was a very good edition, we are happy with those 16 medals,” he said. “Our athletes gave their all to achieve this result.”
The gold medals went to Fran Vanhoutte in roller skating, Florian Bayili in jiujitsu, Brent Deklerck on the trampoline, Yannick Michiels in orienteering and the acrobatic gymnastics duo of Maysae Bouhouch and Silke Macharis.
It was a very good edition. Our athletes gave their all to achieve this result
“We score particularly well in sports in which we have a rich tradition,” says Van Looy.
“It's nice to see that there is continuity. But there is also talent in the new sports. There is still some work to be done and some athletes still need to grow, but the potential is there.”
Roller skating remains Belgium’s biggest success story. In 2017, Sandrine Tas won six medals, in 2022 Bart Swings won five and now Vanhoutte has four.
“We have a good tradition there, thanks to the good work of the federation,” says Van Looy.
“Athletes also see that you can progress from roller skating to speed skating at the Winter Olympics. That is one of the attractions of the sport.”