A rich common history unites the Memorial Van Damme and Sebastian Coe. Coe made his international debut at our inaugural meeting in 1977 as a completely unknown young British athlete. He finished third in that race after being added to the field at the very last moment. One year later Coe won the 800m in Brussels to make his appearance on the international stage.
When he arrived in Brussels in 1981 Coe told the organisers that he wanted to break the Mile World Record. His rival Steve Ovett had just broken Coe’s World Record and Seb couldn’t really stand that. In a fabulous race Coe shaved more than a second off the Mile World Record. It also meant the first World Record set at the Memorial Van Damme which contributed massively to the glory and fame of the meeting. “In a certain way everything started for the both of us at our meeting in Brussels”, says Meeting Director Wilfried Meert.
After his active career Coe regularly turned back to the stadium in Brussels. He witnessed the new 4 x 800m World Record set by a Kenyan team. That record was held by a British team that Coe was part of. “As an athlete, as a person and as a leader Coe is a phenomenon”, says Wilfried Meert. “That is why we are really looking forward to working with Sebastian Coe to make our sports stronger for the future.”
19 August, 2015
