The 47th edition of the KBC Night will be remembered for Paulien Couckuyt’s new Belgian record in the unusual 300m hurdles. Despite the wind, she beat the previous benchmark by over a second and a half. The most impressive performance, however, came from Winfred Yavi. After a solo run, the reigning Olympic champion fell just short of improving the 2026’s world leading time in the 3,000m steeplechase.
On Saturday many fans were present at De Veen Athletics Stadium for the 47th edition of the KBC Night. And so was the wind, which would ultimately prove a tricky opponent for many athletes. But not for Paulien Couckuyt, the hurdle runner successfully achieved her aim of smashing the Belgian record in the 300m hurdles, previously held by Kylie Lambert at 40.33 seconds. With a time of 38.66 seconds, the athlete confirmed her great form, earning her the Paul Eerdekens Trophy for the best Belgian performance.
The best international performance came on the 3,000m steeplechase. Reigning Olympic champion Winfred Yavi broke clear for a formidable solo run that very nearly resulted in the world-leading time of 2026. With a time of 8:52.87, the steeplechase specialist was just two tenths of a second off, meaning her hard work was not quite rewarded.
Crowd favourite Rani Rosius treated the spectators to two appearances. In the individual 100m, she saw victory go to Delphine Nkansa with a time of 11.20 seconds ahead of her own 11.35 effort. In the mixed 4x100m, the two Belgian sprint stars joined forces, with their quartet clocking a fast 41.34 time. In the men’s individual 100m, Benjamin Azamati equalled the 25-year-old meeting record of 10.12 seconds. Emiel Botterman was the fastest Belgian with a personal best of 10.27 seconds.
Belgian victories were also on offer in the main programme in the 100m hurdles, men’s 400m, women’s 800m and the pole vault. Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck tore through the hurdles with her latest run below the 12-second barrier, a 12.98.
Jonathan Sacoor narrowly missed the 46-second mark in the 400m and Camille Laus failed to meet the European Championships qualifying standard, but both were still able to celebrate victory. In the pole vault, Elien Vekemans – who set a Belgian record at this meeting last year – was a convincing winner with a jump of 4m53.
The remaining victories went to Sam Tanner (men’s 1,500m), Jose Pinto (men’s 5,000m), Myrte Van der Schoot (women’s 400m), Ryan Jansen (javelin), Augustine Haquet (women’s 1,500m), John Adesola (110m hurdles) and Slovenia (women’s 4x100m relay).
