Queens of the heptathlon: Nafi Thiam and Noor Vidts win gold and bronze for Belgium at Paris Olympics
Belgium is celebrating after Nafissatou Thiam made history by winning a third consecutive Olympic title in Paris, while fellow Belgian heptathlete Noor Vidts took the bronze on Friday evening. For 29-year-old Thiam, the formidable feat of repeating h
Belgium is celebrating after Nafissatou Thiam made history by winning a third consecutive Olympic title in Paris, while fellow Belgian heptathlete Noor Vidts took the bronze on Friday evening.
For 29-year-old Thiam, the formidable feat of repeating her success in the gruelling multi-event competition, confirms her position as one of the greatest athletes of all times.
She is the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the heptathlon three times, and the only Belgian to have taken three consecutive Olympic titles.
Thiam won the competition with 6,880 points, only 36 points ahead of Briton Katerina Johnson-Thompson who won silver, while Vidts finished on 6,707 to pick up her first Olympic medal.
The long-standing rivalry, albeit a friendly one, between the Belgian and British athletes, pushed both women to achieve personal bests in many of the events, including the finale.
Going into the 800m, Thiam topped the point table; Johnson-Thompson, the stronger runner, needed to finish eight seconds ahead of the Belgian. Thiam stumbled slightly on the first lap, but came in only six seconds behind her rival.
As the athletes lay exhausted on the track, Thiam remained in a supine position. The realisation that she had just pulled off an extraordinary performance transformed her face into one of relief and joy.
If there was any doubt about the effort required to compete in seven track and field events over two days, Thiam confirmed that the competition had been incredibly hard mentally as well as physically. “I gave it everything,” she told RTBF directly after her win. “The competition was very tight and I really had to tough it out.”
The heptathlon was a test for a warrior, she said, admitting that she was struggling to realise what she had just accomplished. “I want to enjoy every moment. It’s incredible to have two Belgians on the podium. She [Vidts] is a fighter also.”
Said Vidts: "It is incredible, I had two really good days. I am very happy with my performance, especially in the javelin.”
Other medal success for Team Belgium
Belgium picked up three medals in total on Friday evening thanks to Sarah Cha ri’s Taekwondo bronze medal. It was the country’s first Olympic medal in the martial arts discipline.
Then in Saturday’s marathon, Bashir Abdi won silver, three years after his bronze performance in Tokyo.
"It's fantastic. All of Belgium was there along the course. There were a lot of supporters, they all pushed me. I'm very happy to win a medal for my country," he told RTBF at the end of the race.
"This is my 12th marathon and I've never had such a complicated course. I knew the climbs were going to be difficult, but there were also a lot of descents where I had little control."
Belgium currently stands 21st in the medal table with a total of 10 medals: three gold, one silver and two bronze. The 2024 Olympics come to a close on 8 August.
Photo: ©Belga/Jasper Jacob
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