There may have been a few light sprinkles on the 46th KBC Night, but De Veen stadium was mostly showered in records. Elien Vekemans set a new Belgian pole vault record by soaring over 4m66. Almost simultaneously, Winfred Yavi took aim at the world record in the steeple. The reigning Olympic champion just fell short in the end, but still emphatically improved the meeting record. Both the men’s and women’s 400m were also run faster than ever. Isaac Kimeli came within four seconds from the meeting record in the 5,000m, but his fast time still earned him the Paul Eerdekens trophy.
The 46th KBC Night was mainly dominated by Winfred Yavi’s world record attempt at the 3,000m steeple. The reigning Olympic and world champion already came close last year with 8m44:39, 0.08s above the fastest time ever. After being paced over the first kilometre, the remaining laps she was on her own, albeit with the help of the Wavelights, which indicated the world record pace. Yavi was on course for long spells but entering the last lap the lights slowly but surely moved out of reach. The steeple specialist crossed the line in 8m49:59, the sixth-fastest time ever run and a huge improvement on the previous meeting record.
Elien Vekemans did clinch her Belgian record on the pole vault with 4m66, beating her own record by one centimetre. Isaac Kimeli was looking for a second Belgian record in the 5,000m, swiftly shaking off his competitors to embark on a solitary battle against the clock. But a valiant Kimeli just fell short with a time of 13m01:39, earning him the Paul Eerdekens Trophy.
In the 400m the KBC Night witnessed its fastest race ever. Mary Moraa, world champion in the 800m, outran the track lap specialists with 50:49. In her wake Imke Vervaet ran to her second best time ever, while Lee Eppie won the men’s race in 44:88. Belgian Tornados Florent Mabille became first Belgian in fifth place in 46:00. Camille Laus did ensure Belgian success by improving on her personal record in the 800m, which is now set at 2m01:17. She did have to cede victory to Nigist Getachew who also set a personal best of 1m57:01. Fellow Belgian Cheetah Paulien Couckuyt took the honours on the 400m hurdles in 55:79, her fastest time of the season.
Crowd favourite Rani Rosius was aiming for a win in front of her home crowd. To do so, she had to get past Maia McCoy and Patrizia Van der Weken, two sprinters who have skirted the 11-second barrier in the past. The proportions were eventually respected and it became another third-place finish for Rosius in 11:17, invalidated by excessive tailwind. McCoy edged out Van der Weken in 10:90. In the javelin throw, Timothy Herman ‘s best effort was a 72m79, over five metres short of winner Yusaku Iwao.
Other victories went to Carlos Pinto Jose (1500m in 3m31:94), Nika Glojnaric (100m hurdles in 12:96), Saguirou Badamassi (110m hurdles in 13:34), Tshepiso Masalela (800m, 1m44:15), Kimberley May (1500m in 4m08:34) and Sulayman Touray (100m in 10’03).
