Lots of VIP’s will find their way to the Memorial Van Damme. King Philip and Queen Mathilde will be the exceptional guests on Sep. 9th at this 40th anniversary of the meeting. Another Royal at the meeting will be Prince Albert from Monaco, an IOC Member. It is his second visit at the Memorial Van Damme.
Former IOC President Jacques Rogge will also attend the 40th anniversary of the Memorial Van Damme, as will IAAF president Sebastian Coe and Pole Vault legend Sergey Bubka.
The organisers also invited 1000 military tot thank them for their dedication to protect civilians in the days when terrorism hit Belgium.
Before the athletes make their entrance the spectators can cheer Olympic Medal winners such as Dirk Van Tichelt, Jolien Dhoore and the Olympic men’s hockey team. Kim Gevaert, Elodie Ouedraogo, Olivia Borlée and Hanna Mariën will finally receive their Olympic gold medals. After the Russian 4 x 100m team from Beijing was officially disqualified , the Belgian quartet will deservedly get their gold medals at the occasion of the Memorial Van Damme. There is no doubt that this will be one of the highlights of an exciting evening of athletics.
Man versus machine A unique 600m race is scheduled. A solar energy driven car races against an athlete. The car is a slow starter that requires some time to reach its cruising speed but from then on the chase is on.
AG Insurance Urban Memorial Van Damme
On Sunday Sep. 4th the AG Insurance Memorial Van Damme visits the heart of the city. The Boulevard Anspach will be converted into a 200m straight athletics track where Jonathan and Dylan Borlée are due to compete. Jonathan Borlée aims to break the European best performance in a 200m straight race (20”64).
Two unfamiliar hurdles races are also on the program. In a 200m Hurdles race Axelle Dauwens faces Anne Zagré, while in the Men’s event Denis Hanjoul and Damien Broothaerts clash against Michael Bultheel and LJ Van Zyl. The South African set a world best of 22”10 in this 200m straight Hurdles.
For the first time one of the Diamond Race events will be held outside the stadium. On Thursday 8th the Women’s Shot Put is taking place at the historic Grand Place, in front of the famous Brussels City Hall. The Olympic medal winners will all be present, headed by the new Olympic Champion Michelle Carter who is joined by Olympic Silver medalist Valerie Adams from New Zealand and Olympic Bronze Medalist Anita Marton from Hungary.
30 August, 2016
