Belgium at the 2012 Summer Olympics explained

Belgium competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The Belgian Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games since 1976. A total of 119 athletes, 75 men and 44 women, competed in 16 sports. There was only a single competitor in slalom canoeing, BMX cycling, equestrian dressage, rowing, shooting, table tennis, and weightlifting. Field hockey was the only team event in which Belgium was represented at these Olympic games.

The Belgian team featured twins and national track stars Kevin and Jonathan Borlée, and the defending champion Tia Hellebaut in the women's high jump. Hellebaut was also appointed by the Belgian Olympic Committee to carry the nation's flag at the opening ceremony. Table tennis player and multiple-time world champion Jean-Michel Saive became the first Belgian athlete to compete in seven Olympic games. Equestrian show jumper Jos Lansink was also at his seventh Olympic appearance as an individual athlete, having participated as part of the Belgian team since 2004 (three of his appearances were representing the Netherlands).

Belgium, however, failed to win the gold medal for the first time since 2004, leaving with only three medals. Judoka Charline Van Snick and laser sailor Evi Van Acker settled for the bronze medals in their respective sports, while Lionel Cox won the silver in rifle shooting.

Medalists

See main article: 2012 Summer Olympics medal table.

Athletics

See main article: Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Belgian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):^[1]

Key

• Note – Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Men

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Jonathan Borlée	align=left rowspan=2	400 m	44.43 NR	1 Q	44.99	3 q	44.83	6
Kevin Borlée	45.14	1 Q	44.84	2 Q	44.81	5
Michael Bultheel	400 m hurdles	49.18 PB	6 q	49.10 PB	6	align=center colspan=2	Did not advance
Adrien Deghelt	110 m hurdles	13.52 PB	3 Q	13.42 PB	4	Did not advance
Jonathan Borlée Kevin Borlée Michael Bultheel Nils Duerinck Antoine Gillet	4 × 400 m relay	3:01.70	4 q	3:01.83	6

* Competed in heats only

Combined events – Decathlon

Athlete	Event	100 m				400 m					1500 m	Final	Rank
Hans van Alphen	Result	11.05	7.64 PB	15.48	2.05	49.18	14.89	48.28	4.80	61.69	4:22.50	8447	4
Points	850	970	819	850	853	863	835	849	763	795

Women

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Almensch Belete	5000 m	15:10.24	11	Did not advance
Eline Berings	100 m hurdles	13.46	2 Q	13.46	7	Did not advance
Elodie Ouedraogo	400 m hurdles	55.89	4 Q	55.20 PB	4	Did not advance
Anne Zagré	100 m hurdles	13.04	4 q	12.94	6	Did not advance

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Svetlana Bolshakova	Triple jump	13.84	21	Did not advance
Tia Hellebaut	High jump	1.93	=2 q	1.97	5

Combined events – Heptathlon

Athlete	Event				200 m			800 m	Final	Rank
Sara Aerts	Result	12.94 PB	1.65	14.43 PB		—	—	—
Points	1133	795	823	0	—	—	—

Badminton

See main article: Badminton at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Athlete	Event	Group Stage			Elimination	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final /
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Yuhan Tan	Men's singles	L 21–17, 10–21, 14–21	L 21–14, 21–12	3	Did not advance
Lianne Tan	Women's singles	L 4–21, 14–21	W 21–16, 21–16	2	Did not advance

Canoeing

See main article: Canoeing at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Slalom

Belgium has so far qualified boats for the following events

Sprint

Belgium has so far qualified boats for the following events

Athlete	Event	Heats		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Maxime Richard	Men's K-1 200 m	36.125	5 Q	37.029	7 FB	38.435	13
align=left rowspan=2	Olivier Cauwenbergh Laurens Pannecoucke	Men's K-2 200 m	35.297	7 FB	36.336	12
Men's K-2 1000 m	3:24.304	4 Q	3:15.655	5 FB	3:13.298	10

Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Cycling

See main article: Cycling at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Road

Men

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Philippe Gilbert	Road race	5:46.05	19
Time trial	54:39.98	17
Tom Boonen	align=left rowspan=4	Road race	5:46.37	28
Jürgen Roelandts	5:46.05	7
Greg Van Avermaet	5:46.37	92
Stijn Vandenbergh	5:46.51	100

Women

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Liesbet De Vocht	Road race	3:35.56	9
Time trial	42:08.28	23
Ludivine Henrion	align=left rowspan=2	Road race
Maaike Polspoel	3:36.01	29

Track

Pursuit

Omnium

Athlete	Event	Flying lap		Points race		Elimination race	Individual pursuit		Scratch race	Time trial		Total points	Rank
		Time	Rank	Points	Rank	Rank	Time	Rank	Rank	Time	Rank
Gijs Van Hoecke	Men's omnium	13.633	13	23	9	18	4:29.992	10	15	1:04.748	12	77	15
Jolien D'Hoore	Women's omnium	14.594	10	25	5	6	3:41.495	8	5	36.585	12	45	5

The Belgian Olympic Committee sent Gijs Van Hoecke home from the London Games after pictures appeared in British newspapers of him looking drunk and being carried into a taxi after a night out in the city.^[2]

Mountain biking

Men

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Sven Nys	align=left rowspan=2	Men's cross-country	Did not finish
Kevin Van Hoovels	1:33:01	19

BMX

Equestrian

See main article: Equestrian at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Eventing

Qualified places^[3]

Athlete	Horse	Event	Dressage		Cross-country			Jumping						Total
								Qualifier			Final
			Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank
Carl Bouckaert	Mensa	align=left rowspan=5	Individual	53.00	45	Eliminated			Did not advance
Virginie Caulier	Nepal du Sudre	48.30	30	21.20	69.50	36	9.00	78.50	34	Did not advance			78.50	34
Karin Donckers	Gazelle de la Brasserie	40.00	7	11.60	51.60	18	4.00	55.60	18 Q	6.00	61.60	15	61.60	15
Marc Rigouts	Dunkas	50.70	36	56.80	107.50	51	Withdrew			Did not advance
Joris Vanspringel	Lully des Aulnes	51.90	41	12.80	64.70	34	Withdrew			Did not advance
Carl Bouckaert Virginie Caulier Karin Donckers Marc Rigouts Joris Vanspringel	See above	Team	139.00	8	46.80	185.80	8	948.30	1134.10	10	1134.10	10

Show jumping

Athlete	Horse	Event	Qualification								Final					Total
			Round 1		Round 2			Round 3			Round A		Round B
			Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank
Dirk Demeersman	Bufero van het Panishof	align=left rowspan=4	Individual	0	=1 Q	8	8	=31 Q	12	20	=38 R	9	=26	Did not advance			9	=26
Jos Lansink	Valentina van't Heike	0	=1 Q	4	4	=17 Q	4	8	=11 Q	8	=23	Did not advance			8	=23
Philippe Lejeune	Vigo d'Arsouilles	0	=1 Q	8	8	=31 Q	Withdrew			Did not advance
Grégory Wathelet	Cadjanine Z	4	=42 Q	4	8	=31 Q	4	12	=26 Q	12	=29	Did not advance			12	=29
Dirk Demeersman Jos Lansink Philippe Lejeune Grégory Wathelet	See above	Team	16	13	Did not advance			16	13

Field hockey

See main article: Field hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Both the men's team and women's team have qualified and will consist of 16 players each.

Men's tournament

See main article: Field hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament.

Group play----------------

5th/6th place

Women's tournament

See main article: Field hockey at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament.

Group play----------------

11th/12th place

Gymnastics

See main article: Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Artistic

Men

Women

Judo

See main article: Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Final /
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Dirk Van Tichelt	Men's −73 kg		W 0100–0000	L 0000–0001	Did not advance
Joachim Bottieau	Men's −81 kg		W 1100–0001	L 0000–0010	Did not advance
Elco van der Geest	Men's −100 kg		L 0100–0000	Did not advance
Charline Van Snick	Women's −48 kg			W 1000–0000	W 1001–0000	L 0000–0001		W 0011–0002
Ilse Heylen	Women's −52 kg			W 0010–0000	W 0020–0002	L 0002–0011		L 0001–1001	5

Rowing

See main article: Rowing at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Belgium has qualified the following boats.

Men

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Sailing

See main article: Sailing at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Men

Women

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Sigrid Rondelez	RS:X	18	21	19	27	15	13	14	14	17	19	EL	150	17
Evi Van Acker	Laser Radial	3	2	3	8	1	5	8	1	8	3	6	40

M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race

Shooting

See main article: Shooting at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Men

Swimming

See main article: Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):^[4]

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Jasper Aerents	50 m freestyle	22.43	23	Did not advance
Ward Bauwens	400 m individual medley	4:16.71 NR	16	Did not advance
François Heersbrandt	100 m butterfly	52.22	=13 Q	52.71	16	Did not advance
Brian Ryckeman	10 km open water	1:51:27.1	16
Glenn Surgeloose	200 m freestyle	1:48.77	25	Did not advance
Pieter Timmers	100 m freestyle	48.54 NR	6 Q	48.57	=12	Did not advance
Jasper Aerents Dieter Dekoninck Pieter Timmers Emmanuel Vanluchenne Yoris Grandjean	4 × 100 m freestyle relay	3:13.89 NR	6 Q	3:14.40	8
Louis Croenen Dieter Dekoninck Glenn Surgeloose Pieter Timmers Yoris Grandjean	4 × 200 m freestyle relay	7:14.44	12	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
align=left rowspan=2	Kimberly Buys	100 m backstroke	1:01.92	29	Did not advance
100 m butterfly	58.79	19	Did not advance
Fanny Lecluyse	200 m breaststroke	2:27.30	19	Did not advance
Jolien Sysmans	50 m freestyle	25.60	31	Did not advance

Table tennis

See main article: Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Tennis

See main article: Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final /
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Steve Darcis	align=left rowspan=3	Men's singles	W 6–4, 6–4	W 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–4	L 5–7, 3–6	Did not advance
David Goffin	L 4–6, 1–6	Did not advance
Olivier Rochus	L 6–7(1–7), 4–6	Did not advance
Kim Clijsters	align=left rowspan=2	Women's singles	W 6–1, 6–4	W 6–3, 6–3	W 6–3, 6–4	L 2–6, 5–7	Did not advance
Yanina Wickmayer	W 6–2, 4–6, 7–5	L 4–6, 6–3, 3–6	Did not advance

Triathlon

See main article: Triathlon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Belgium has qualified the following athletes.

Athlete	Event	Swim (1.5 km)	Trans 1	Bike (40 km)	Trans 2	Run (10 km)	Total Time	Rank
Simon De Cuyper	Men's	17:58	0:42	59:45	0:25	31:10	1:50:00	26
Katrien Verstuyft	Women's	19:43	0:45	1:07:30	0:31	35:40	2:03:38	28

Weightlifting

See main article: Weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Belgium has qualified 1 man.

See also

• Belgium at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics
• Belgium at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

Notes and References

1. Web site: iaaf.org – Top Lists. IAAF. 4 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604220856/http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/index.html. 4 June 2011 . live.
2. Web site: Cycling: "Drunken" photos get Belgian sent home. Reuters. 9 August 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120812021050/http://ca.news.yahoo.com/cycling-drunken-photos-belgian-sent-home-123614949--spt.html. 12 August 2012.
3. Web site: London 2012 Olympics qualifying: Equestrian. BBC. 3 February 2011. 2 January 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110201045537/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/equestrian/9006515.stm. 1 February 2011 . live.
4. Web site: Swimming World Rankings . FINA . 8 June 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110106131744/http://www.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=805 . 6 January 2011 .