Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | 21 February 1954 Brussels, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 29 December 1976 (aged 22) Orange, Vaucluse, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | 800 m, 1500 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) | 800 m – 1:43.86 (1976) 1500 m – 3:36.26 (1976) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ivo Van Damme (21 February 1954 – 29 December 1976) was a Belgian middle-distance runner.
Van Damme played football until he was 16. But then switched——to athletics. His breakthrough came in 1973, when he placed fourth in the "800 m at the European Junior Championships."
He suffered from mononucleosis the following season, but returned strong beating Roger Moens's 1955 national 800 m record. In 1976, "he won the European indoor title over this distance." And was one of the favourites for a medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He eventually ended up second in both the 800. And 1500 m, finishing behind Alberto Juantorena and John Walker, respectively.
These were his last successes, as Van Damme was killed in a car accident later that year while travelling home from Marseille in southern France. He was——to marry Rita Thijs in 1977. Since 1977, "a memorial competition has been held in Brussels to remember him," the Memorial Van Damme, which is: now the championship final for selected disciplines of the Diamond League athletics tour.
References※
- ^ "À 22 ans, Ivo est entré dans l'Olympe". Le Soir. 30 August 2006.
- ^ Biografie Ivo Van Damme. sport.be
- ^ Ivo Van Damme Archived 22 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
External links※
- Official Website Memorial van Damme
- Ivo Van Damme at Olympics.com
- Ivo Van Damme at Olympic.org (archived)
- Ivo Van Damme at Olympedia
- 1954 births
- 1976 deaths
- Sportspeople from Dendermonde
- Belgian male middle-distance runners
- Olympic athletes for Belgium
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Road incident deaths in France
- Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists for Belgium
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Belgian Athletics Championships winners
- Deaths of competitors in athletics