Kim Gevaert

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

Kim Gevaert
Gevaert in 2008
Personal information
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Spouse(s)Djeke 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
2008 Beijing4×100 m relay
World Championships
2007 Osaka4×100 m relay
World Indoor Championships
2004 Budapest 60 m
2006 Moscow 60 m
European Championships
2006 Gothenburg100 m
2006 Gothenburg200 m
2002 Munich100 m
2002 Munich200 m
European Indoor Championships
2002 Vienna60 m
2005 Madrid60 m
2007 Birmingham60 m
Summer Universiade
1999 Mallorca 200 m
2001 Beijing 200 m
Continental Cup
2006 Athens200 m

Career

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]

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 September 10, 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

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 Dutch.[6]

Honours

Major achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
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)
2002European Indoor ChampionshipVienna, Austria60 m1st7.16
European Championships Munich, Germany100 m2nd11.22
200 m2nd22.53
20031st IAAF World Athletics FinalMonte Carlo, Monaco200 m4th22.95
2004World Indoor ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary60 m2nd7.12 NR
2005European Indoor ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain60 m1st7.16
2006World Indoor ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia60 m3rd7.11 NR
European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden100 m1st11.06
(First Belgian woman to win a gold medal in this event.)
200 m1st22.68
2007European Indoor ChampionshipBirmingham, England60 m1st7.12
(7.10 in the semi-final NR)
World ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan100 m5th11.05
(First European woman)
4 × 100 m3rd42.75 NR
20082008 Summer OlympicsBeijing Olympic Stadium, Peking4 × 100 m1st42.54 NR
Memorial Van DammeBrussels, Belgium100 m1st11.25
(last event before her retirement)

Personal best
  • 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
  1. Kim Gevaert. sports-reference.com
  2. "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. http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1041469/coe-and-hansen-hail-belated-olympic-gold-for-belgian-womens-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. http://www.gva.be/cnt/aid846788/gevaert-en-hellebaut-bekroond-met-grootkruis
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