.jpg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 21 February 1954 Brussels, Belgium[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 29 December 1976 (aged 22) Orange, Vaucluse, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 800 m, 1500 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 800 m – 1:43.86 (1976) 1500 m – 3:36.26 (1976) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ivo Van Damme (21 February 1954 – 29 December 1976) was a Belgian middle-distance runner.
Van Damme played football until he was 16, but then switched to athletics. His breakthrough came in 1973, when he placed fourth in the 800 m at the European Junior Championships.[2]
He suffered from mononucleosis the following season, but returned strong beating Roger Moens's 1955 national 800 m record. In 1976, he won the European indoor title over this distance, and was one of the favourites for a medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He eventually ended up second in both the 800 and 1500 m, finishing behind Alberto Juantorena and John Walker, respectively.[3]
These were his last successes, as Van Damme was killed in a car accident later that year while travelling home from Marseille in southern France.[3] He was to marry Rita Thijs in 1977.[1] Since 1977, a memorial competition has been held in Brussels to remember him, the Memorial Van Damme, which is now the championship final for selected disciplines of the Diamond League athletics tour.
