A few hours before the conclusion of the Olympic athletics qualifiers, some Belgians on Tuesday night tried to improve their rankings at the Continental Tour meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland. Only Vanessa Stearkindress to some extent succeeded in achieving her goal. Ellen Berings, Fanny Smits, and Robin Vanderbdene did not.
For all the Belgians who did not make it to the immediate limit, including those who were active in Lucerne on Tuesday, they will have to wait anxiously to see if they finish high enough in the Olympic standings. World Athletics publishes the list in principle at night from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Sterkandries was second in the hammer throw with a distance of 68m 78, which is below her Belgian record of 69m 91. She is currently 38th in the Olympic standings, while the top 32 can go to Tokyo. She will likely move to at least a few places thanks to her performance on Tuesday.
Berings was disappointed with her 11th place finish in the 100m hurdles at 13.58, well above her season best of 13.26. It is 42nd in the ranking, while the top 40 can go to Tokyo. BC wasn’t included last weekend, as Berings was delivering her best season, yet. In the pole vault, Fanny Smits and Chloe Henry did not reach their initial height. Smits is 27 in the provisional Olympic standings, and Henry is outside the top 100. The first 32 are allowed to go to Tokyo.
In the men’s 200 metres, Robin Vanderbdene disappointed with his fourth in Series B time of 21.43 seconds, one second higher than his personal best. He is 54th in the ranking, while the top 56 could go to Tokyo.
