'Art meets sport'
On Wednesday 21 November, Kim Gevaert and artist Christine Comyn were the hosts on a theme evening in Bruges 'Arts meets sport'. The track and field sprinter received a work of art by the Flemish artist.
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| Kim Gevaert and Christine Comyn at the painting for Kim. (picture photonews) |
Top athletes and artists share a same near freakish obsession. They are continuously looking for improvement.
Three years ago, the Flemish artist Christine Comyn designed the Memorial 2005 poster. She then discovered a sports she hardly know and kept on following the athlete for whom she has an increasing admiration, Kim Gevaert.
On Wednesday 21 November both ladies met up in Christine Comyn's studio in Bruges. Kim acted as host for an evening with the theme 'art meets sport' and was more than happy to receive the artwork created especially for her by Comyn.
'ARTISTS FAMILY' GEVAERT
The entire family Gevaert, 'an artists family', was present in Bruges. Kim's first love however was music and she played the flute and piano for six years before focusing on athletics. Brother John is a concert piano player. Sister Sigrid is a dancer. Marlon, the one year older brother, followed the tracks of his famous sister and is now working as a national sprint coach of New Zeeland. Quite clearly: 'art meets sport' and 'sport meets art' in the Gevaert family.
Memorial best meeting of the year
The Memorial Van Damme tops the athletics events of the year. In a yearly ranking by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) Brussels precedes Athens and Rome.
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| Sanya Richards ran a WYB in Brussels. (picture photonews) |
"Which proves that despite some disadvantages for athletes, saturation or jetlag aside, they all were very motivated and contributed to a meeting that reall was worth a lot", according to a very happy Wilfried Meert, organising director of the Memorial Van Damme.
There might be some more good news for Belgian track and field events. The (preliminary) ranking still has to be completed by EAA meetings. The KBC Night of the Athletics (in July at Heusden) could very well end close to the top 15 events worldwide.
| IAAF Meetings ranking 2007 | |
| 1. | Brussels |
| 2. | Athens |
| 3. | Rome |
| 4. | Monaco |
| 5. | Paris |
| 6. | Stockholm |
| 7. | New York |
| 8. | Eugene |
| 9. | Lausanne |
| 10. | Oslo |
| 11. | Rieti |
| 12. | Berlin |
| 13. | Zürich |
| 14. | London |
| 15. | Doha |
A great evening with a world record and WYB's
A fantastic 31st edition of the Memorial Van Damme, with a world record for Meseret Defar at the 2 mijl as its climax. Kenenisa Bekele (10.000m) Sanya Richards (400m) and Paul Kipsiele Koech (3000m steeple) delivered a world year best each. Asafa Powell won the 100m and Kim Gevaert heated up the whole stadium with her victory at the 200m.
Already early on,
Meseret Defar took care of a great moment with a world record at the 2 mile (8:58.58). Veerle Dejaeghere ran a Belgisch record in 9:49.93.
World record holder Asafa Powell lived up to his role of favorite at the 100 meter. The Jamaican ran a really fast time at 9.84 (wind: -0,3 m/s). Only ten hundreds of a second above the 9.74 record Powell set last week in Rieti in Italyt.
Sanya Richards is only one victory away from the Golden League's jackpot . The American won the 400 meter in 49.29, a world year best. Should Richards win her last competition on Sunday in Berlin, she can claim her part of the 1 million dollar jackpot.
Russian vault jumper Yelena Isinbayeva was also still in the running for that jackpot. She won in Brussels with 4m80. Her fellow Russian Svetlana Feofanova also managed that height, but needed three attempts.
Kim Gevaert put the stadium up in flames before and after the 200 meter. The European champion sprintted to her victory in 22.75, before the American Torri Edwards (22.81) and Grenada's Sherry Fletcher (23.08). Her 4x100 meter colleagues, Hanna Mariën (23.56) and Olivia Borlée (24.01) respectively took places 7 and 9.
At the 3000 meter steeple, Paul Kipsiele Koech was the best in another wordl year best. The Kenyan won the race in 7:58.80 and improved his 7:59.42 from 7 August in Stockholm.
In the final event of the evening, the 10k for men, Kenenisa Bekele was on his own too early to be able to score a world record. Yet, the Ethiopian ran a world year best in 26:46:21. A grand finale for a great Memorial!
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| Mariën and Borlée congratulate Gevaert with her victory at the 200m. (picture photonews) |
World record holder Asafa Powell lived up to his role of favorite at the 100 meter. The Jamaican ran a really fast time at 9.84 (wind: -0,3 m/s). Only ten hundreds of a second above the 9.74 record Powell set last week in Rieti in Italyt.
Sanya Richards is only one victory away from the Golden League's jackpot . The American won the 400 meter in 49.29, a world year best. Should Richards win her last competition on Sunday in Berlin, she can claim her part of the 1 million dollar jackpot.
Russian vault jumper Yelena Isinbayeva was also still in the running for that jackpot. She won in Brussels with 4m80. Her fellow Russian Svetlana Feofanova also managed that height, but needed three attempts.
Kim Gevaert put the stadium up in flames before and after the 200 meter. The European champion sprintted to her victory in 22.75, before the American Torri Edwards (22.81) and Grenada's Sherry Fletcher (23.08). Her 4x100 meter colleagues, Hanna Mariën (23.56) and Olivia Borlée (24.01) respectively took places 7 and 9.
At the 3000 meter steeple, Paul Kipsiele Koech was the best in another wordl year best. The Kenyan won the race in 7:58.80 and improved his 7:59.42 from 7 August in Stockholm.
In the final event of the evening, the 10k for men, Kenenisa Bekele was on his own too early to be able to score a world record. Yet, the Ethiopian ran a world year best in 26:46:21. A grand finale for a great Memorial!
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