Memorial/Marathon/Rollers...

SPORT FOCUS Memorial/Marathon/Rollers... DIFFERENT LOCATIONS VERSCHILLENDE LOKATIES VARIOUS LOCATIONS Michaël Bellon Marathon Brussels Marathon/Marathon de Bruxelles/Brussels City Run (21 km), ING Kids Run (1 km) & mini-marathon (3 km), 28.8 011-45.99.97, info@ingrunningtour.be Rollers Roller Parade Summer Tour 2005, > 30.9 Fri/Fr 19.00, Poelaertplein, Brussels/Bruxelles 02-227.27.24, www.belgiumrollers.com Memorial 29th Van Damme Memorial, 26.8, King Baudouin Stadium/Stade Roi Baudouin, Houba De Strooperlaan, Brussels/Bruxelles 02-478.20.25, www.memorialvandamme.be N It is possible that the Eddy Merckx Grand Prix will not be organized this year because the organization of the time trial has become increasingly expensive, and negotiations to organize the event with Paris-Brussels have failed. But this does not mean that there is nothing else to experience sport-wise this summer. For Belgium Rollers, everything is rolling, for example. They gather every Friday at 7:00 PM on Place Poelaert for a twenty-kilometer ride through the city. Everyone can participate for free without registration. Safety rules must, of course, be observed; for children, wrist, elbow, and knee protection is mandatory. The technique of new participants is tested beforehand. True beginners can go to Bois de la Cambre every day at 5:00 PM for free roller skating lessons (Info: 02-346.97.98, info@twin.be, www.twin.be). Equipment can also be rented at the start, and motorists can park for free in the parking lot under Place Poelaert. Of course, the most prestigious sporting event of the summer remains the Ivo Van Damme Memorial. Last year, the Brussels leg of the International Association of Athletics Federations' Golden League circuit was once again named the best athletics event in the world. It is the favorite meeting of many athletes who can truly appreciate the special atmosphere of the stadium. Tickets are often sold long in advance. Those who wish can order them now on the website. The definitive list of participants will only be announced after the World Championships in Helsinki, but it is already certain that Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and 10,000-meter world and Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele will come to the King Baudouin Stadium. Isinbayeva will try to break a world record, as she did last year. In search of the finish line Most of you probably remember the hilarious and at the same time sad images of Kenyan athlete John Ekiru Kerai who, in the last hundred meters of the Brussels Marathon, desperately searched for the finish line on the Grand-Place. Mayor Thielemans called this the most embarrassing moment of the year. This year, the Brussels Marathon will take place on August 28. The program also includes the current Brussels City Run (21 km), the ING Kids Run (1 km), and a mini-marathon (3 km) which took place at the end of September last year. The start will be given at the Parc du Cinquantenaire, and the finish is once again on the Grand-Place. 20 AGENDA