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Kim Gevaert

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Kim Gevaert
Gevaert in 2008
Personal information
Born5 August 1978 (1978-08-05) (age 46)
Leuven, Belgium
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
SpouseDjeke Mambo
Sport
ClubV. A. C. Steenokkerzeel
CA Valencia Terra i Mar[1]
Coached byRudi Diels
Retired2008
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals2004, 2008
Personal best(s)100 m – 11.04 (2006)
200 m – 22.20 (2006)[1]
Medal record
Representing  Belgium
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 0 0
World Championships 0 0 1
World Indoor Championships 0 1 1
European Championships 2 2 0
European Indoor Championships 3 0 0
Continental Cup 0 1 0
Universiade 1 1 0
Total 7 5 2
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 4×100 m relay
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Osaka 4×100 m relay
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place 2004 Budapest 60 m
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Moscow 60 m
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Gothenburg 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2006 Gothenburg 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2002 Munich 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2002 Munich 200 m
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2002 Vienna 60 m
Gold medal – first place 2005 Madrid 60 m
Gold medal – first place 2007 Birmingham 60 m
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1999 Mallorca 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2001 Beijing 200 m
Continental Cup
Silver medal – second place 2006 Athens 200 m

Kim Gevaert (born 5 August 1978 in Leuven) is a former sprinter and Olympic champion from Belgium.[2]

Career

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Her closest brush with a world title came in running 4/100 of a second behind three-time champion Gail Devers at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. At the next World Indoor Championships, in 2006, she won the bronze medal in a national record time of 7.11 seconds.

On 9 August 2006 Gevaert won the 100 metres at the European Championships in 11.06 seconds. Two days later, she also won the final of the 200 metres, which was celebrated together with fellow Belgian athlete Tia Hellebaut, who had won gold in the high jump final only minutes before Kim Gevaert. With her first medal, Gevaert became the first Belgian gold medalist at the European Championships in 35 years and the first woman to win the sprint double since 1994.

At the 2007 World Championships she won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay, together with teammates Hanna Mariën, Olivia Borlée and Élodie Ouédraogo. With 42.75 seconds the team set a new Belgian record. A few days earlier as best European athlete she had finished 5th in a thrilling 100 m final.

On her 30th birthday, three days before the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Gevaert announced that she would retire at the end of the 2008 season.[3]

Kim Gevaert during the 2008 Night of Athletics

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Gevaert was in the best condition of her life. She reached the 100 m semifinals by ending 3rd in her quarterfinals, but after missing her start she finished sixth and failed to proceed to the finals.[2] In the finals of the 4×100 m for women a couple of days later, Gevaert ran the final leg for the Belgian team and finished in second behind the Russians to bring home the silver medal in a new Belgian record of 42.54 seconds. On 16 August 2016, it was announced that the IOC had officially disqualified the Russian 4 x 100 metres relay team after Yuliya Chermoshanskaya's re-tested samples revealed two illegal substances, awarding the gold medal to the Belgian team.[2] She was awarded the gold medal eight years late on 10 September 2016.[4]

On 5 September 2008, Kim Gevaert ended her career running the 100 m at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium, a race which she won in 11.25.

Personal life

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Gevaert has two brothers, Marlon and John, and a sister Sigrid. Marlon competed in sprint at the national level in Belgium before becoming a national sprint coach in New Zealand.[5] In 2010 Gevaert married her long-time partner and a fellow athlete Djeke Mambo. They have two sons and one daughter, who are bilingual, as the principal language of their father is French and of their mother is Flemish.[6]

Honours and awards

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Major achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Belgium
1996 World Junior Championships Sydney, Australia 100m 10th (sf) 11.74
200m 7th 23.88 (wind: -2.2 m/s)
1999 European U23 Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 100m 3rd 11.39 (wind: -0.2 m/s)
200m 5th 23.08 (wind: -0.5 m/s)
2002 European Indoor Championship Vienna, Austria 60 m 1st 7.16
European Championships Munich, Germany 100 m 2nd 11.22
200 m 2nd 22.53
2003 1st IAAF World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 200 m 4th 22.95
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 60 m 2nd 7.12 NR
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 200 m 6th 22.84
2005 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 60 m 1st 7.16
2006 World Indoor Championships Moscow, Russia 60 m 3rd 7.11 NR
European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 100 m 1st 11.06
(First Belgian woman to win a gold medal in this event.)
200 m 1st 22.68
2007 European Indoor Championship Birmingham, England 60 m 1st 7.12
(7.10 in the semi-final NR)
World Championships Osaka, Japan 100 m 5th 11.05
(First European woman)
4 × 100 m 3rd 42.75 NR
2008 Olympic Games Beijing Olympic Stadium, Beijing, China 4 × 100 m 1st 42.54 NR
Memorial Van Damme Brussels, Belgium 100 m 1st 11.25
(last event before her retirement)

Personal best

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  • 60 metres: 7.10 seconds (Belgian Record)
  • 100 metres: 11.04 seconds (Wind: 2.0/Place: Brussels/Date:09 07 2006) (Belgian Record)
  • 200 metres: 22.20 seconds (Brussels/09 07 2006) (Belgian Record)
  • 400 metres: 51.45 seconds (-/Gent/08 05 2005) (Belgian Record)

References

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  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kim Gevaert". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Athlete biography: Kim Gevaert". Beijing2008.cn. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  3. ^ Gevaert to retire at end of season. IAAF (5 August 2008 )
  4. ^ "Coe and Hansen hail belated Olympic gold for Belgian women's 4x100m team following Russian doping positive".
  5. ^ Marlon Gevaert is trainer van Nieuw-Zeeland maar supporter van Kim. nieuwsblad.be (29 August 2007)
  6. ^ De Bruycker, Gerlinde (29 February 2016) Kim Gevaert: "Ik hoef niet per se bekend te blijven". De Morgen
  7. ^ "Palmares Gouden Spike" (in Dutch). www.atletiek.be. 2023.
  8. ^ "Kim Gevaert is Vlaamse Reus 2007" (in Dutch). Sporza. 7 December 2007.
  9. ^ "Kim Gevaert wint Vlaams Sportjuweel 2002". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 11 December 2002.
  10. ^ a b c "Kim Gevaert wordt ereburger". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 22 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Sportpersoonlijkheid van het jaar". sportgala.be/nl (in Dutch). 14 December 2008.
  12. ^ "Uitreiking Gouden Erepenningen 2014 Vlaams-Parlement". belg.be (in Dutch). 21 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Red Lions volgen Nina Derwael op met winst van Nationale Trofee voor Sportverdienste" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 7 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Vlaams Sportjuweel 2007 voor aflossingsteam 4x100 meter". Gazet Van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 11 December 2007.
  15. ^ "Aflossingsploeg 4x100m krijgt Trofee voor Sportverdienste 2007". De Morgen (in Dutch). 12 February 2008.
  16. ^ "Gevaert en Hellebaut bekroond met Grootkruis".
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