Belgium at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Belgium competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. 96 Belgians took part in Beijing, the biggest delegation for the country since 1976.^{[citation needed]} Belgium won 2 gold medals, better achievement than in 2004, when the country won 1 gold and 2 bronze medals.

Belgium at the 2008 Summer Olympics
IOC code	BEL
NOC	Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee
Website	www.olympic.be (in Dutch and French)
in Beijing
Competitors	96 in 16 sports
Flag bearers	Sébastien Godefroid (opening) Tia Hellebaut (closing)
Medals Ranked 46th	Gold 2 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 2
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

the team of Belgium at the Opening Ceremony

Medalists

Main article: 2008 Summer Olympics medal table

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Gold	Tia Hellebaut	Athletics	Women's high jump
Gold[a]	Olivia Borlée Kim Gevaert Hanna Mariën Élodie Ouédraogo	Athletics	Women's 4 × 100 m relay

• ^a Russian team's gold medals were stripped due to anti-doping rules violation by Yulia Chermoshanskaya.

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

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		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Kristof Beyens	200 m	20.69	3 Q	20.50	3 Q	20.69	8	Did not advance
Jonathan Borlée	400 m	45:25	4 q	—		45.11	5	Did not advance
Kévin Borlée		45:43	4 q	—		44.88 NR	3	Did not advance
Pieter Desmet	3000 m steeplechase	8:37.99	11	—				Did not advance
Monder Rizki	5000 m	13:54.41	8	—				Did not advance
Cédric van Branteghem	400 m	45:54	3 Q	—		45.81	8	Did not advance
Jonathan Borlée Kévin Borlée Arnaud Ghislain Cédric van Branteghem	4 × 400 m relay	3:00:67 NR	3 Q	—				2:59.37 NR	5

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Kevin Rans	Pole vault	5.45	28	Did not advance

Combined events – Decathlon

Athlete	Event	100 m	LJ	SP	HJ	400 m	110H	DT	PV	JT	1500 m	Final	Rank
Hans van Alphen	Result	11.28	6.55	14.86	1.84	DNS	—	—	—	—	—	DNF
	Points	799	709	781	661	0	—	—	—	—	—
Frédéric Xhonneux	Result	11.41	6.94	13.99	1.90	DNF	DNS	—	—	—	—	DNF
	Points	776	799	728	714	0	0	—	—	—	—

Women

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Nathalie de Vos	10000 m	—						32:33.45	24
Veerle Dejaeghere	3000 m steeplechase	9:54.65	10	—				Did not advance
Kim Gevaert	100 m	11.33	1 Q	11.10	3 Q	11.30	6	Did not advance
Olivia Borlée Kim Gevaert Hanna Mariën Élodie Ouédraogo	4 × 100 m relay	42.92	3 Q	—				42.54 NR

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Tia Hellebaut	High jump	1.93	1 Q	2.05 NR

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Heats		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Kevin de Bont Bob Maesen	Men's K-2 1000 m	3:21.604	4 QS	3:24.148	4	Did not advance

Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Road

Men

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Mario Aerts	Road race	6:24:01	7
Christophe Brandt		Did not finish
Maxime Monfort	Road race	Did not finish
	Time trial	1:07:12	26
Jurgen van den Broeck	Road race	Did not finish
Johan van Summeren		6:26:27	42

Women

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Lieselot Decroix	Road race	3:36:35	44

Track

Omnium

Athlete	Event	Points	Laps	Rank
Iljo Keisse	Men's points race	8	0	12
Kenny de Ketele Iljo Keisse	Men's madison	17	−1	4

Mountain biking

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Filip Meirhaeghe	Men's cross-country	Did not finish
Sven Nys		2:01:00	9
Roel Paulissen		2:03:30	19

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Eventing

Athlete	Horse	Event	Dressage		Cross-country			Jumping						Total
								Qualifier			Final
			Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank
Karin Donckers	Gazelle De La Brasserie	Individual	31.70	2	25.60	57.30	9	4.00	61.30	12 Q	4.00	65.30	9	65.30	9
Joris van Springel	Bold Action		52.00	38	66.40	118.40	49	15.00	133.40	47	Did not advance			133.40	46

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
Jos Lansink	Cumano	Individual	1	=14 Q	1	2	4 Q	2	4	2 Q	0	=1 Q	8	8	=9	8	=9

Field hockey

Main article: Field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Belgium managed to qualify a team to the men's tournament. They won one, drew one, and lost three games in the group play. This qualified them to a match for 9th/10th place, which they won, finishing 9th for the tournament.

Men's tournament

Main article: Field hockey at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

Roster

The following is the Belgian roster in the men's field hockey tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[1]

Head Coach: Adam Commens

1. Cédric de Greve (GK)
2. Xavier Reckinger
4. Thierry Renaer
5. Jérôme Dekeyser
6. Loïc Vandeweghe (c)
7. John-John Dohmen
8. Thomas van den Balck
9. Maxime Luycx
10. Cédric Charlier
11. Charles Vandeweghe
14. Philippe Goldberg
15. Gregory Gucassoff
17. Thomas Briels
18. Patrice Houssein
19. Félix Denayer
28. Jérôme Truyens

Reserve:

21. David van Rysselberghe (GK)
23. Alexandre de Saedeleer

Group play

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	5	4	0	1	9	5	+4	12	Semi-finals
2	Germany	5	3	2	0	12	6	+6	11
3	South Korea	5	2	1	2	13	11	+2	7	Fifth place game
4	New Zealand	5	2	1	2	10	9	+1	7	Seventh place game
5	Belgium	5	1	1	3	9	13	−4	4	Ninth place game
6	China (H)	5	0	1	4	7	16	−9	1	Eleventh place game

Source: FIH
(H) Hosts

11 August 2008 20:30 Spain  4–2  Belgium Amat  8' Freixa  20' Ribas  41' Sojo  49' Report Truyens  26' Dekeyser  63' Umpires: Murray Grime (AUS) Roel van Eert (NED)

13 August 2008 18:30 Belgium  1–1  Germany Charlier  22' Report Witthaus  19' Umpires: Rob ten Cate (NED) David Gentles (AUS)

15 August 2008 18:00 Belgium  2–4  New Zealand Dekeyser  43' Gucassoff  69' Report Child  19', 20' Brooks  30' McAleese  60' Umpires: David Leiper (GBR) Xavier Adell (ESP)

17 August 2008 10:30 South Korea  3–1  Belgium You Hyo-sik  46', 51' Jang Jong-hyun  50' Report Dekeyser  20' Umpires: Rob ten Cate (NED) Satinder Kumar (IND)

19 August 2008 21:00 China  1–3  Belgium Song Yi  4' Report Reckinger  28' Truyens  32' Dohmen  48' Umpires: Murray Grime (AUS) Gary Simmonds (RSA)

9th–10th place

21 August 2008 08:30 Belgium  3–0  Canada Dekeyser  2', 70' Dohmen  23' Report Umpires: David Leiper (GBR) Xavier Adell (ESP)

Football

Main article: Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men's tournament

Roster

The following is the Belgium squad in the men's football tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[2]

Head coach: Jean-François de Sart

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Logan Bailly	(1985-12-27)27 December 1985 (aged 22)	13	0	Racing Genk
2	2DF	Sepp de Roover*	(1984-11-12)12 November 1984 (aged 23)	7	0	Groningen
3	2DF	Vincent Kompany	(1986-04-10)10 April 1986 (aged 22)	1	0	Hamburger SV
4	2DF	Thomas Vermaelen	(1985-11-14)14 November 1985 (aged 22)	16	1	Ajax
5	2DF	Sébastien Pocognoli	(1987-08-01)1 August 1987 (aged 21)	19	1	AZ
6	3MF	Marouane Fellaini	(1987-11-22)22 November 1987 (aged 20)	10	0	Standard Liège
7	4FW	Tom de Mul	(1986-03-04)4 March 1986 (aged 22)	32	5	Sevilla
8	3MF	Faris Haroun	(1985-09-22)22 September 1985 (aged 22)	30	5	Racing Genk
9	4FW	Kevin Mirallas	(1987-10-05)5 October 1987 (aged 20)	12	6	Lille
10	3MF	Jan Vertonghen	(1987-04-24)24 April 1987 (aged 21)	6	0	Ajax
11	3MF	Maarten Martens* (c)	(1984-07-02)2 July 1984 (aged 24)	32	8	AZ
12	1GK	Yves Ma-Kalambay	(1986-01-31)31 January 1986 (aged 22)	9	0	Hibernian
13	2DF	Laurent Ciman	(1985-08-05)5 August 1985 (aged 23)	22	1	Club Brugge
14	3MF	Landry Mulemo	(1986-09-17)17 September 1986 (aged 21)	18	0	Standard Liège
15	2DF	Jeroen Simaeys	(1985-05-12)12 May 1985 (aged 23)	3	0	Club Brugge
16	3MF	Anthony Vanden Borre	(1987-10-24)24 October 1987 (aged 20)	15	2	Genoa
17	4FW	Stijn de Smet	(1985-03-27)27 March 1985 (aged 23)	25	3	Cercle Brugge
18	4FW	Mousa Dembélé	(1987-07-16)16 July 1987 (aged 21)	2	0	AZ
19	3MF	Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe[n 1]	(1989-02-02)2 February 1989 (aged 19)	3	0	Hamburger SV
22	1GK	Yves de Winter[n 2]	(1987-05-25)25 May 1987 (aged 21)	6	0	Westerlo

* Over-aged player.

Notes

1. Replaces Stijn De Smet who was injured during the competition
2. Replaces Vincent Kompany who was returned to his club during the competition

Group play

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil	3	3	0	0	9	0	+9	9	Qualified for the quarterfinals
2	Belgium	3	2	0	1	3	1	+2	6
3	China (H)	3	0	1	2	1	6	−5	1
4	New Zealand	3	0	1	2	1	7	−6	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
(H) Hosts

Brazil	1–0	Belgium
Hernanes 79'	Report

7 August 2008

17:00

Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang

Attendance: 39,661

Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)

Belgium	2–0	China
Dembélé 8' Mirallas 80'	Report

10 August 2008

19:45

Shenyang Olympic Stadium, Shenyang

Attendance: 45,756

Referee: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)

New Zealand	0–1	Belgium
	Report	Haroun 35'

13 August 2008

19:45

Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai

Attendance: 45,202

Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)

Quarterfinal

Italy	2–3	Belgium
Rossi 18' (pen.), 74' (pen.)	Report	Dembélé 23', 79' Mirallas 45+2'

16 August 2008

18:00

Beijing Workers' Stadium, Beijing

Attendance: 50,802

Referee: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)

Semifinal

Nigeria	4–1	Belgium
Adefemi 17' Obasi 59', 72' Okonkwo 78'	Report	Ciman 88'

19 August 2008

18:00

Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai

Attendance: 56,312

Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)

Bronze medal game

Belgium	0–3	Brazil
	Report	Diego 27' Jô 45', 90+2'

22 August 2008

19:00

Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai

Attendance: 50,705

Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Artistic

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification								Final
		Apparatus						Total	Rank	Apparatus						Total	Rank
		F	PH	R	V	PB	HB			F	PH	R	V	PB	HB
Koen van Damme	All-around	12.575	14.200	14.325	14.450	14.600	14.475	84.625	43	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification						Final
		Apparatus				Total	Rank	Apparatus				Total	Rank
		F	V	UB	BB			F	V	UB	BB
Gaëlle Mys	All-around	14.125	14.050	14.175	14.800	57.150	31 Q	13.975	14.000	12.875	13.100	53.950	24

Judo

Main article: Judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Preliminary	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Dirk van Tichelt	−73 kg	Bye	Mammadli (AZE) L 0000–1000	Did not advance			Siamionau (BLR) W 1021–0020	Kim C-S (PRK) W 1011–0000	Kanamaru (JPN) W 0211–0000	Boqiev (TJK) L 0000–0011	5

Women

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Ilse Heylen	−52 kg	La Rizza (FRA) W 0001–0000	Ryder (AUS) W 1000–0000	Nakamura (JPN) L 0000–0001	Did not advance	Bye	Tarangul (GER) W 0002–0000	Kaliyeva (KAZ) L 0000–1000	Did not advance
Catherine Jacques	−70 kg	Bye	Scapin (ITA) L 0000–0010	Did not advance

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechage		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Tim Maeyens	Single sculls	7:16.60	1 QF	—		6:52:70	2 SA/B	6:59:65	3 FA	7:03:40	4
Bart Poelvoorde Christophe Raes	Double sculls	6:31.84	4 R	6:24:01	2 SA/B	—		6:29:91	5 FB	6:35:55	8

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

Main article: Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Women

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Evi van Acker	Laser Radial	1	10	16	10	12	6	12	4	18	CAN	10	91	8

Open

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Carolijn Brouwer Sébastien Godefroid	Tornado	11	11	5	6	3	8	13	6	16	9	EL	72	12

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

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Mathieu Fonteyn	200 m butterfly	1:56.65 NR	19	Did not advance
Yoris Grandjean	50 m freestyle	22.45 NR	28	Did not advance
	100 m freestyle	48.82 NR	19	Did not advance
François Heersbrandt	100 m butterfly	53.33	37	Did not advance
Brian Ryckeman	10 km open water	—				1:52.10	7
Glenn Surgeloose	200 m freestyle	1:48.92 NR	30	Did not advance
Tom Vangeneugden	1500 m freestyle	15:11.04 NR	20	—		Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Elise Matthysen	100 m breaststroke	1:08.37 NR	16 Q	1:09.00	13	Did not advance
	200 m breaststroke	2:27.04 NR	15 Q	2:29.64	16	Did not advance

Table tennis

Main article: Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Preliminary round	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Jean-Michel Saive	Men's singles	Bye		Toriola (NGR) L 2–4	Did not advance

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Steve Darcis	Men's singles	Massú (CHI) L 4–6, 5–7	Did not advance
Olivier Rochus		Minář (CZE) W 6–3, 3–6, 6–3	Tipsarević (SRB) W 7–6(7–5), 2–3r	González (CHI) L 0–6, 3–6	Did not advance
Steve Darcis Olivier Rochus	Men's doubles	—	Cañas / Nalbandian (ARG) W 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–5), 6–3	Andreev / Davydenko (RUS) L 6–7(6–8), 2–6	Did not advance

Triathlon

Main article: Triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Swim (1.5 km)	Trans 1	Bike (40 km)	Trans 2	Run (10 km)	Total Time	Rank
Peter Croes	Men's	18:26	0:26	58:51	0:32	33:25	1:51:40.94	27
Axel Zeebroek		18:30	0:27	57:48	0:30	33:15	1:50:30.90	13

Volleyball

Main article: Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Preliminary round	Standing	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Liesbeth Mouha Liesbet van Breedam	Women's	Pool A  Maaseide – Glesnes (NOR) L 0 – 2 (22–24, 18–21)  Tian J – Wang J (CHN) L 1 – 2 (21–18, 19–21, 13–15)  Kuhn – Schwer (SUI) W 2 – 0 (21–18, 21–17) Lucky Losers  Saka – Rtvelo (GEO) W 2 – 0 (21–13, 21–19)	3 Q	May-Treanor – Walsh (USA) L 0 – 2 (22–24, 10–21)	Did not advance

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Tom Goegebuer	Men's −56 kg	114	12	137	13	251	13

See also

• Belgium at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

References

1. 2008 Official Results Part Two: Hockey – Wrestling, LA84 Foundation.
2. "Men's Olympic Football Tournament Beijing – Belgium Squad List". FIFA. Retrieved 22 October 2012.