Silver in the marathon and bronze in taekwondo and track cycling

13/08/2024

Bashir Abdi gave Belgium its first silver medal in a marathon, and Sarah Chaâri took bronze in the taekwondo event after a tense match, as did Fabio van den Bossche in the track cycling race.

The Belgian athletes earned a place on the Olympic podium in Paris in three different disciplines:

Bashir Abdi wins silver

Bashir Abdi completed the marathon in just over two hours and six minutes, achieving the feat of winning a second Olympic medal, three years after winning bronze in Tokyo. A magnificent feat in what is considered the toughest marathon in Olympic Games history, due to the significant elevation differences over the 42.125-kilometre course.

Sarah Chaâri snatches bronze in a thrilling taekwondo match

The Belgian took bronze in the under 67 kilos category, winning the fight for the third spot on the podium. Sarah Chaâri beat her opponent with a tenth of a second to go, giving Belgium its first Olympic medal in this martial art.

Fabio van den Bossche takes bronze in the Omnium

Considered an outsider, Fabio van den Bossche won a superb bronze medal in the Omnium, scoring 131 points in the points race. France's Benjamin Thomas won gold with 164 points, while Portugal's Iuri Leitao took silver with 153 points. Van den Bossche earned Belgium their fifth Olympic medal in cycling, after Remco Evenepoel's two golds and Wout van Aert and Lotte Kopecky's bronze medals on the road.