Tim Van de Velde
Belgian steeplechaser (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tim Van de Velde (born 1 February 2000) is a Belgian steeplechaser.[1]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 1 February 2000 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | 3000 metres steeplechase | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | 3000 m s'chase: 8:14.40 (Brussels, 2025) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
He won the gold medal in the 2000 metres steeplechase at the 2016 European Athletics U18 Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia.[2] In August 2017, Van de Velde set a new Belgian junior record for the 2000m steeplechase with a time of i5:43:52 in Kappelen, breaking the 40-year-old record held by Peter Daenens from 1977.[3] He placed seventh in the 2018 World Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.[4]
He won the senior Belgian Athletics Championships in 2021 in the 3000 metres steeplechase in Brussels.[5] He competed for Belgium at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, but was forced to retire from his heat after suffering a sprained ankle.[6]
In May 2024, Van de Velde qualified for the European Championships at the Meeting Iberoamericano in Huelva, Spain with a time of 8:18.68 in the 3000m steeplechase, a significant improvement on his personal best which previously stood at 8:24.56. With the time, he also moved up to fourth on the Belgian all-time list.[7] He subsequently competed for Belgium at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, Italy, but was forced to retire from his heat after suffering a fall.[8]
He won the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2025 Belgian Athletics Championships in Brussels in early August.[9] He set a new personal best of 8:14.40 in the 2025 Diamond League at the 2025 Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium in August 2025.[10] He placed ninth in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on 28 August.[11]
In September 2025, he competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[12][13][14] During the race, after Colombia’s Carlos San Martin was injured during a fall, as they approached the finish line, Van de Velde decided to turn back to help San Martin to cross the finish line – fully aware that it might lead to his disqualification – in a true demonstration of sportsmanship and humanity. For this he was awarded in November 2025 World Athletics's International Fair Play Award.[15]