Nafi Thiam took advantage of the 21st Meeting International d’Athlétisme de la Province de Liège to fine-tune her preparation for the World Cup. Pieter Sisk and Camille Laus flirted with Belgian records in the 600 metres, while Cynthia Bolingo, Thomas Carmoy and Ben Broeders won their individual parts.
Like the sun, the crowd was on hand at the Province Naimette Arena on Wednesday, July 12, to watch the athletes at work. And there was hardly time to get bored during a vibrant evening.
Nafi Thiam was once again one of the top performers at this year’s Meeting International d’Athlétisme de la Province de Liège. The world and reigning Olympic champion in the heptathlon competed in the long jump, looking to secure her position ahead of the world championships in Budapest next month (19-27 August). A second-place finish behind Burkinabe athlete Marthe Koala (6m58) with a best jump of 6m47 was the result.
‘I was satisfied with my run-up,’ Nafi told Tipik on camera. “As a result, the air phase was a bit in freestyle. I didn’t think too much about it, I was too focused on putting in a good performance. There was also some stress present. Lately I was experiencing some discomfort with the tendons and I think we found a solution here. During the competition it went well, I am happy about that. So there are good and bad points to remember. In any case, it was a great encounter with a fantastic crowd, who were close to it the whole time, in a great atmosphere.”
Ben Broeders recently put in a fine performance at the Wanda Diamond League in Stockholm (5m72), but in Liege the bar remained a little lower. However, a jump of 5m42 was enough for the Belgian pole vaulter to win the competition. Thomas Carmoy won the high jump (2m23): our compatriot outperformed Ukrainian and former world champion Bohdan Bondarenko (2m20).
In the women’s 400m, Cynthia Bolingo impressed with a season-best time of 50.69, her third-best chrono ever. In the run-up to the World Championships, a perfect confidence boost. Liège paralympian Roger Habsch surprised on the 100m wheeler, finishing second (19.36) behind Remi Kizito (18.24).
Camille Laus (1st in 1’26‘27) and Pieter Sisk (5th in 1’16’39) took a shot at the Belgian record in the 600m, but fell just short. Sandra Stals (1’25‘91) and Joeri Jansen (1’15’35), who ran the BR in Liege 21 years ago, thus remain in the tables.
The Belgian Falcons were looking to qualify for the World Championships in Liege. The Belgian 4x100m relay team, which appeared at the start with two teams, failed to improve their current best time (38‘73): with times of 39’48 and 42‘92, they finished behind Spain (39’06) and Kenya (39″30). However, the battle for a ticket to Budapest is not over yet.
