Belgium is in a crucial phase of its hunt for Olympic medals as Nafissatou Thiam (29) and Noor Vidts (28) complete the final three events of the women's heptathlon on Friday.
Thiam – a two-time Olympic champion in the event – made history on Thursday night at the Paris Olympics, scoring a personal best in the shot put event with a 15.54m throw and leading the overall heptathlon rankings. Her effort earned her 897 points.
Friday saw Thiam score 978 points with a long jump of 6.41m, securing her second place in the overall standing. In the same event, the Vidts landed a 6.40m jump earning 975 points, climbing to third place.
With 4985 points, Thiam was trailing British athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson by just 45 points.
Belgian Nafissatou Nafi Thiam pictured in action during at the shot put, third event of the women's heptathlon competition at the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, on Thursday 08 August 2024 in Paris, France. The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad are taking place in Paris from 26 July to 11 August. The Belgian delegation counts 165 athletes competing in 21 sports. BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
The javelin provided further celebrations for Belgian fans. Vidts, who was an outsider for a medal, had a phenomenal performance in the javelin at midday on Friday. She threw three consecutive personal records, which she has now set at 45 meters. She is in close contention for overall bronze with American Anna Hall.
Belgian athlete Noor Vidts pictured in action during the javelin, the sixth event of the women's heptathlon at the athletics competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, on Friday 09 August 2024 in Paris, France. Credit: Belga
Thiam was the superior contender going into the javelin event and she duly delivered, throwing 54.04 metres – almost two metres more than her nearest competitor in the event.
The top five in the overall standings are now:
1.Nafi Thiam (Bel) - 5924 points
2. Johnson-Thompson (GBr) - 5803 points
3. Annik Kaelin (Zwi-) - 5694 points
4. Noor Vidts (Bel) - 5689 points
5. Anna Hall (USA) - 5567 points
The 800m final event takes place at 20:25.
