“This will take a while to digest, but I’ll be back”, Belgium's Nafissatou ‘Nafi’ Thiam announced in a social media post shortly after withdrawing midway through the heptathlon event at last month's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Thiam is one of the most decorated athletes in Belgian sports history. As well as winning heptathlon gold at three consecutive Olympic Games and two World Championships, she also holds the indoor pentathlon world record, and another three titles at European Championships.
The Brussels-born athlete's performance in September had been well below her usual standards. Her withdrawal came shortly after the long jump event, the fifth of seven, as she dropped down to 8th place. “Clearly my body isn’t happy, and I don’t want to be making a mistake”, a tearful Thiam told Belgium's French-speaking state broadcaster RTBF, shortly before confirming her withdrawal following a discussion with her coaching team.
"I wanted to make Tokyo a great experience, but it was already off to a bad start before the Championships", the 31-year-old explained. "I wasn't happy at the start of the event, so it was hard to find positives while competing."
Ongoing dispute with Belgian Athletics
In Japan, the Brussels native was visibly affected by an ongoing dispute with her country's governing body. The contention with Belgian Athletics, which initially centred around Thiam's refusal to sign a code of conduct before the Championships, has developed into a clash between the country's Dutch and French-speaking athletics organisations, which together make up Belgian Athletics.
As explained by RTBF, the main point of contention in the code revolves around a ban for the duration of the competition on sponsorship activities (including social media posts) other than those linked to Belgian Athletics. In Thiam's case, her sponsorship deal with Nike is in direct conflict with Belgian Athletics' partnership with Asics. Another one of the heptathlete's sponsors, insurance company AXA, is a competitor of Allianz, who have a deal with Belgian Athletics.
While Belgian Athletics as a whole selects athletes to represent the country in international competitions, for most other purposes Belgian athletics is divided into two distinct federations: Atletiek Vlaanderen and the French-speaking LBFA (Ligue Belge Francophone d’Athlétisme). The two organisations were at odds over allowing Thiam to take part in the championships, according to an investigation by RTBF published last week.
According to their report, there were disagreements over allowing the heptathlete to compete in Tokyo despite not signing the code of conduct. Rutger Smith, Athletes’ Coordinator for Atletiek Vlaanderen, reportedly sent an email asking for “an example to be made” of Thiam in order to prevent any future exemptions from the code of conduct, no matter the status of the athlete.
An offer to negotiate an addendum to the code of conduct before the departure for Tokyo was rejected by Thiam's team, according to RTBF's investigation. Although no agreement was found, she was nevertheless allowed to take part in the World Championships.
'I'm a bit ashamed to be Belgian at the moment'
In a press conference before the Championships, Thiam explained that the code "goes beyond the legal framework" in terms of athletes' image rights. She accused the federation of "punishing" her for not signing the document, notably by not allowing her to attend a pre-championships training camp and by making her pay for accomodation arrangements in Japan. Her personal physiotherapist was also left without an accreditation for the competition, leaving him to treat Thiam outside of the athletes' practice facilities.
“There are people in the north of the country who didn’t want Nafi to be there”, indicated Jessica Mayon, the president of the French-speaking wing of Belgian Athletics, to the RTBF at the end of the competition. “This is all the result of tensions which have been ongoing for many, many years." A meeting between the two sections of the country’s athletics federation had initially been scheduled last week, but was reportedly postponed due to the tensions between them.
"I'm a bit ashamed to be Belgian at the moment”, Thiam's coach Michael Van der Plaetsen told RTBF at the World Championships. "Many people came up to me to say that they were sorry about what was happening". For Van der Plaetsen, Belgian Athletics was "100% at fault" due to their lack of support for their star athlete. "I'm the coach, and she's the athlete. It's those people in certain positions who need to ensure that athletes are protected and are in the condition to perform at their best."
“During international tournaments, league representatives always act on behalf of Belgian Athletics: as one voice. This principle was broken in Tokyo”, the Flemish athletics federation indicated in a statement. “In order to restore unity at the Belgian level, it is absolutely essential that Atletiek Vlaanderen refrain from commenting on national issues until trust has been restored.”
More than a champion
Wallonia’s sports minister, Jacqueline Galant, has offered to act as a mediator between the parties. “I urge everyone to move on from the comments and attacks in the press and on social media. They serve no purpose for the athletes, the federations or the image of the sport”, the Mouvement Réformateur politician explained in a statement two weeks ago.
“Nafissatou Thiam is much more than a champion. For the entire country, she is a source of inspiration and of pride," added Galant. "I hope that the events in Tokyo will serve as a starting point for rebuilding a climate of respect, serenity and mutual trust, so that our champions can continue to fly our colours high in stadiums around the world."
Responding to questions at the French Community's parliament, Galant later called for changes to be made to Belgian Athletics' code of conduct, having also reported that she met with the president of the French branch and was waiting for a response from the federation regarding the steps to take to solve the dispute. “We welcome this initiative”, Atletiek Vlaanderen reacted to Galant’s proposals. “We assume that she will discuss the situation with the LBFA.”
"I am constantly in contact with the LBFA", Galant told The Brussels Times. "I've also indicated to Nafissatou Thiam, via her team, that I am available to speak to her directly, in particular with regard to her needs and expectations."
"This saga is not up to par with our reputation in sport", Galant continued. "I chose to preserve the athletes' serenity by not commenting during the championships. Now they are behind us, it's time to put things on the table and make sure that these kinds of problems do not arise again."
"I am expecting concrete suggestions from the LBFA, but it seems essential to me that athletes are not put in difficult positions by their federations", Galant explained to The Brussels Times regarding a potential rewrite of the code of conduct.
"When you have a champion like Nafissatou Thiam, a source of national pride, it is legitimate to consider a code of conduct that offers more flexibility. The objective is not to establish any exceptions, but to find a suitable framework that protects the athletes, their sponsors, and the federation." Both the LBFA and Atletiek Vlaanderen declined to provide a reaction when reached for comment by The Brussels Times on the changes that could be made to the code of conduct.
Proposed improvement programme
There have also been discussions between the Flemish sports minister Annick De Ridder and Sport Vlaanderen over a proposed "improvement programme", Belga reported last week. Speaking at the Flemish parliament last Wednesday, the minister notably suggested that there could be "room to treat the top eight athletes differently from the others".
Thiam herself published a statement on her Instagram account last Saturday. In the post, she notably accuses Belgian Athletics of "making up arbitrary and unlawful rules that take away from the athletes what allows them to make a living from their efforts and performances for the financial profit of the federation".
The Olympic champion took aim at the country's athletics governance as a whole, rather than the Flemish section alone: "It is Belgian Athletics as a whole that endorsed the decisions taken against me and therefore bears collective responsibility for them."
Thiam went on to deny accusations that she was seeking any kind "special treatment" with regard to the code of conduct: "What I have precisely asked from the federation is to be treated as any other athlete of the team in Tokyo and it was denied to me."
"I cannot stress enough how important it is for change right now. The safeguarding of athletes and their rights must be a priority. Where can an athlete go when they are intimidated or bullied by their own federation?"
In a statement published on Monday evening, Atletiek Vlaanderen claimed that reporting on the Nafi Thiam situation was "often biased, lacking in nuance, and sometimes even inaccurate". The governing body did not indicate which specific aspects of the reports it deemed to be biased.
The Brussels Times reached out to Nafi Thiam's management team for comment but did not receive a response.
