5 contemporary top sports personalities from Belgium
For such a small country, Belgium has a lot of great sport personalities it can be proud of. The following sportsmen -and women are from different athletic backgrounds, but each has been entitled Sportsman or Sportswoman of the year before.
1. Kirsten Flipkens
Tennis player Kirsten Flipkens (31) started playing tennis at the age four, which led to an impressive sports career. According to rankings, she had her high in ladies singles in 2013, where she was ranked 13th. However, her latest successes where achieved in Doubles Tennis.
2. Frederik Van Lierde
Van Lierde started his triathlon career 20 years ago at the age of 20, in 1997. Since than he has won triathlon games repeatedly. In fact, since the year 2011 he has won over seven times. He and his athletic successes were honoured in 2013, when he became ‘National Sportsman of the Year’.
3. Kevin De Bruyne
The Belgian professional football player Kevin De Bruyne mainly plays as an attacking midfielder for Manchester City, as well as the Belgian National Team. Since the player has joined Manchester City in 2015, his going rate has risen steadily and is now estimated at around 65mio Euro.
4. Nafissatou Thiam
Nafissatou Thiam is a 23-years-old heptathlete whose career started rather early, as she was a promising youngster, being ranked 1st junior in the world in the 2012–2013 athletics season. Her biggest achievements though, were her victory in the Olympic Games 2016, as well as her gold medal won at the 2017 Athletics World Cup.
5. Greg Van Avermaet
Racing cyclist Greg Van Avermaet (32) has been elected ‘Sportsman of the Year’ in 2016, the same year he won the Olympic Championship in Rio de Janeiro. He has been openly discussed in the media before, because of doping rumors, of which he has been acquitted in 2015.
