As every year, the King Baudouin Stadium welcomes the best athletes in the world for one of the Diamond League meetings, the most important athletics competition of the year.
This 46th edition of the Ivo Van Damme Memorial brings together the world's top athletes for one evening. A major event in the country's sporting calendar, managed from this year by Kim Gevaert, our former champion who won Olympic gold in the 4 × 100 m relay in 2008 in Beijing and a double gold medal at the European Championships in the 100 m and 200 m in 2006 in Gothenburg.
The international stars present include the Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the reigning world champion, who will be racing against the Briton Dina Asher-Smith, the Ivorian Marie-Josée Ta Lou and the American Sha'Carri Richardson.
The Kenyans Kibiwott Kandie and Sabastian Sawe will also be attending with the firm aim of taking on the one hour and 20 km records set by Mo Farah and the Belgian Bashir Abdi in Brussels in 2019.
In the 3000 m steeplechase, Ethiopia's Werkuha Getachew feels ready to set a new world record but will be watched closely by Norah Jeruto, the current world champion, and especially by the record holder, Beatrice Chepkoech.
Not forgetting Armand Duplantis, able to defy the laws of physics in pole vaulting ever further with each of his appearances.
For Belgium, Nafissatou Thiam will face the Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh, victorious in Brussels last year, in a highly anticipated high jump competition. There is also no doubt that Cynthia Bolingo in the 400 m, Noor Vidts in the long jump, Julien Watrin in the 400 m hurdles and Anne Zagré in the 100 m hurdles will make it their duty to shine in front of their home crowd.
A great event that is a fine tribute to Ivo Van Damme!