Tokyo Olympics: the best record in the last 100 years!
Belgium came 29th in the medal rankings, with seven podium finishes. And more generally, we are delighted to note that 69 of the 123 athletes lined up in individual or team events were ranked in the top 8!
At the Games of the XXXII Olympiad held from 23 July to 8 August 2021, the Belgians distinguished themselves by placing in the top 8 on 26 occasions during the various events. Counting their three gold medals (gymnastics, field hockey and heptathlon), the silver medal (cycling) and the three bronze medals (Judo, team jumping and marathon), our athletes finished in the top 8 of a competition 26 times: seven times in 4th place, four times in 5th place, three times in 6th place, three times in 7th place and finally twice in 8th place. These performances amount to an Olympic record that is highly prized in the world of sport.
As a reminder, Belgium had already made progress at the Olympic Games in Rio, winning six medals (two of each colour) and 40 of our athletes achieved a top 8 finish on 19 occasions.
While all eyes are already on the next Games in Paris in 2024, the whole of Belgium is hailing the achievements of Nafissatou Thiam in the heptathlon, Nina Derwael in gymnastics, the Red Lions in field hockey, Wout van Aert in cycling, Matthias Casse in judo, the jumping team and, finally, Bashir Abdi in the marathon.
For more details on the rankings of the Belgian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, see TeamBelgium.