Manuela Soccol has had many career highlights so far. Last year she represented Belgium at the Rio Olympics and she has won the past two editions of the Brussels 20k. She also wanted to add a Brussels 10k win to her tally and that's exactly what she did on Sunday.
On the track of the King Baudouin Stadium Soccol finished with a time of 36 minutes and 14 seconds, two and a half minutes ahead of Dorien Peeters (38:53). Juliet Champion (39:24) was third. The men's race was won by Piet Crommen in 34:22. Joshua Salsby (34:54) and Thomas De Montlivault (35:00) joined him on the podium.
Finishing a 10k run on the tartan in Brussels is always special. The 10,000 metres is the main event of the AG Memorial van Damme. Of the 50 fastest times ever on the distance, 24 were run in Brussels. The starting signal was given by Cédric Van Branteghem, former 400 metre runner and now the newly-appointed meeting director of the AG Memorial Van Damme. This year the Diamond League event will take place on 1 September.
Over 1,800 runners took part in the 10k. Around 300 participants who prefer shorter races chose the 5k run. Those races were won by Sebastien Mahia (17:23) and Inga Van Den Bossche (19:05).
Whether it's a 5k or 10k, slow or fast, every participant received equal amounts of encouragement from the crowd around the Heysel and its parks (Park of Laeken, Jan Sobieski Park, Ossegem Park). In the King Baudouin Stadium the fans were able to follow the race on the big screen, just like at the AG Memorial Van Damme.
All finishers were handed a medal by the Smurfs, the mascots of the AG Memorial Van Damme. Congratulations to everyone who took part!
09 April, 2017
