The 22nd edition of the Meeting International d’Athlétisme de la Province de Liège on Wednesday welcomed four top Belgian athletes aiming to shine at the Olympics next summer: Cynthia Bolingo, Ben Broeders, Noor Vidts and Pieter Sisk. Belgians who, unlike this quartet, are not yet qualified for Paris will have the perfect opportunity on Wednesday at the Province Naimette Arena to make an ultimate bid for an Olympic ticket with the vocal support of the home crowd.
Cynthia Bolingo will run the 300 metres at the Meeting International d’Athlétisme de la Province de Liège. At this rather unusual distance, she will attack her own Belgian record, which has stood at 36.47 since August 2022. In Paris, we will of course see Bolingo running the 400 metres, the distance at which she finished fifth at last year’s World Championships. Helena Ponette, Bolingo’s colleague at the Belgian Cheetahs, will also be at the start of the 300 metres in Liege.
A Belgian record may also be in the air in the men’s 600 metres. Both Pieter Sisk and Eliott Crestan have it in them to wipe Joeri Jansen’s 1:15.35 from 2002 off the tables. Sisk has an Olympic ticket for the 800 metres in his pocket, Crestan was good for bronze in the 800 metres at the World Indoor Championships this spring. Sisk and Crestan will take on Kenyan Ferguson Rotich, the vice-Olympic champion in the 800 metres at Tokyo, among others, on Wednesday.
heptathlete Noor Vidts captured bronze at the past European Athletics Championships in Rome. At the Meeting International d’Athlétisme de la Province de Liège, she will compete in the 100-metre hurdles, one of the three numbers on which she set a personal best in Rome. Hurdles specialist Anne Zagré, who is not yet qualified for the Olympics, will also be at the start on Wednesday.
Ben Broeders has been among the world’s top pole vaulters for years and is aiming for a final place in Paris. In the Province Naimette Arena on Wednesday night, he aims to sharpen his Olympic form. German Raphael Holzdeppe, the 2013 world champion, will be one of his opponents.
High jumper Thomas Carmoy, who narrowly missed out on medals at the European Championships in Rome, will try to reach the Olympic limit in Liege on Wednesday. Ditto for Ismael Debjani and Thomas Vanoppen in the 1500 metres. Other Belgians to keep an eye on include Rani Rosius (100 metres), Julien Watrin (110 metres hurdles), Mimoun Abdoul Wahab (400 metres hurdles) and Annelies Nijssen, Rani Baillievier and Vanessa Scaunet (800 metres).
Top international athletes making their appearance in Liege, besides Ferguson Rotich and Raphael Holzdeppe, include Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto (Rio 2016 Olympic champion in the 3000-metre steeple) and Bahraini Winfred Yavi (the reigning world champion in the 3000-metre steeple), who will run the 5000 metres in Liege on Wednesday. Marta Alemayo is also a name to look out for in that race. This Ethiopian super-talent is only 16 and became the U20 world cross-country champion in March.
