Erik Wijmeersch

Erik Wijmeersch (born 23 January 1970) is a Belgian former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events. His greatest success was a gold medal in the 200 metres at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 1996. His best time of 20.66 remains the Belgian indoor record for the event. He also holds bests of 10.17 seconds for the 100 metres and 6.69 seconds for the indoor 60 metres.

He represented his country at the 1996 Summer Olympics and competed for Belgium at four consecutive World Championships in Athletics from 1995 to 2001. He helped set a 4 × 100 metres relay national record on his final appearance at that competition. He was a four-time participant at the IAAF World Indoor Championships and a four-time medallist at the lower league European Cup meetings. He won 19 national titles in sprint events, combining indoor and outdoors.

After his retirement, he admitted to doping during 2 years of his career in his autobiography. However, his performances were not annulled as he did not fail any drug tests over that period.

Career Early career Born in Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders, He made his first impact at national level in 1992 when he won the Belgian indoor title in the 200 metres as well as the outdoor under-23 title in the distance. He retained his indoor title in 1993 and won his first national title at the Belgian Athletics Championships in 1995 with a personal best of 20.80 seconds.

The following season brought major success in the form of the gold medal at the 1996 European Athletics Indoor Championships, which he won in a time of 21.04 seconds. He had a personal best time of 20.68 at the Meeting Pas de Calais – that time ranked him in the top ten globally that season. He remained in good form in the outdoor season, setting two personal bests with wins in Tallinn, running 10.23 for the 100 metres and 20.42 seconds for the 200 m. His first outdoor medal came shortly after at the European Cup 2nd League, where he was the 100 m champion. An Olympic debut came at the 1996 Atlanta Games and he reached the quarter-finals in both the 100 m and 200 m while representing Belgium. Wijmeersch set personal bests at all distances that year: 6.74 seconds for the 60 metres, 10.17 seconds for the 100 m, a Belgian indoor record of 20.66 seconds for the 200 m, 32.52 seconds for the 300 metres, and 47.57 seconds for the 400 metres. In 1998 he took a 100/200 m double at the Belgian Championships and in his sole international outing reached the semi-finals of the 200 m at the 1998 European Athletics Championships. He ran a season's best of 10.25 seconds for the 100 m – among the fastest times of his career, in spite of his age. He ran in that event at the 2006 European Athletics Championships and was a semi-finalist. It was to be the last major international outing of his career.

Personal bests 50 metres – 5.80 sec (2005) 60 metres – 6.69 sec (2005) 100 metres – 10.17 sec (1997) 150 metres – 15.92 sec (2001) 200 metres – 20.42 sec (1996) 200 metres (indoor) – 20.66 sec (1997) 300 metres – 32.52 sec (1997) 400 metres (indoor) – 47.57 sec (1997)

National titles Belgian Athletics Championships 100 metres: 1996, 1998, 2002, 2008 200 metres: 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 Belgian Indoor Championships 60 metres: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005 200 metres: 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001

International competitions