Olympics: Athletics competition kicks off at Stade de France

The Olympic athletics competition began on Friday morning. Several Belgian athletes are starting their tournament in the Stade de France, with the first final scheduled for Friday evening.

Jochem Vermeulen and Ruben Verheyden are up first, in the 1,500m heats. They need to finish among the first six to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Those that don’t make it have a second chance through the repechages.

Then it is quickly the turn of another duo, Rani Rosius and Delphine Nkansa, in the heats of the 100m. More Belgians enter the competition in the evening session. After 18.00, Lisa Rooms runs in the heats of the 5,000m.

Later in the evening, the mixed relay team of the 4x400m – nicknamed the Belgian Waffles – will take a shot at a place in the final. They will need to finish in the top three in the first heat or record one of the two fastest losing times. The team is made up of Jonathan Sacoor, Helena Ponette, Kevin Borlée and Naomi Van Den Broeck.

With Isaac Kimeli, there will be a Belgian in a final: he runs in the 10,000m after 21.00. After finishing 18th in Tokyo, he will be hoping for a place among the top 10 in Paris. Later, he will also run the 5,000m.

^{Belgians Naomi Van den Broeck and Jonathan Sacoor in action during the mixed 4x400m relay at the European Championships Athletics in Rome, Italy, 7 June 2024 © BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS}