Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.7 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 383/km2 (990/sq mi). Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region, located less than 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south. Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th century. Nowadays, the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, although French is the majority language and lingua franca. Brussels is also increasingly becoming multilingual. English is spoken widely and many migrants and expatriates speak other languages as well.
The King Baudouin Stadium is a sports ground in Brussels, Belgium. Located in the north-western district of the City of Brussels, it was built to embellish the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in view of the 1935 Brussels International Exposition. It was inaugurated on 23 August 1930, with Crown Prince Leopold attending the opening ceremony. The stadium hosted 70,000 at the time. Its name honours King Baudouin, Leopold's successor as King of the Belgians from 1951 to his death in 1993.
Brussels Airport — also informally called Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport — is an international airport in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, 6.5 nautical miles northeast of Brussels, Belgium. In 2019, more than 26 million passengers arrived or departed at Brussels Airport, making it the 26th busiest airport in Europe. It is home to around 260 companies, together directly employing 20,000 people and serves as the home base for Brussels Airlines and TUI fly Belgium. BRU covers 1,245 hectares and contains three runways.
The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating 4.011 km (2.492 mi) motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.
Prince Gabriel of Belgium is the elder son and second child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium. He is currently second in line to the throne of Belgium after his elder sister, Elisabeth.
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes predominantly rely on anaerobic energy system during the 200 m sprint. Similarly to other sprint distances, the 200 m begins from the starting blocks. When the sprinters adopt the 'set' position in the blocks they are able to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles. This enables them to stride forwards more powerfully when the race begins and start faster.
Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew training. It is a member of the Star Alliance as well as the International Air Transport Association. The airline's IATA code SN is inherited from its predecessors, Sabena and SN Brussels Airlines. Brussels Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group. The company slogan is ′You’re in good company′.
Ryan Earl Richards is a British-Jamaican basketball player. He began playing in England and has played for short spells for numerous teams in several countries. He was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 49th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, but never played a regular season game for the team.
Arnaud Démare is a professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Arkéa–B&B Hotels. In 2011 he won the UCI World Under-23 Road Race Championships, and in 2016 he won the Milan–San Remo. He is one of five riders to have won the French National Road Race Championships three times, having won the race in 2014, 2017 and 2020.
Jasper Stuyven is a Belgian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Lidl–Trek. He is considered to be a classics specialist, and has won several major races including the 2021 Milan–San Remo, one of cycling's monuments, the 2020 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the 2016 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. He has also had success in stage races, winning the overall classification of the 2019 Deutschland Tour as well as a stage of the 2015 Vuelta a España. Stuyven has also competed in six editions of the Tour de France, finishing on the podium several times on different stages.
Victor Campenaerts is a Belgian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Lotto–Dstny.
Yves Lampaert is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam Soudal–Quick-Step.
Tim Merlier is a Belgian cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Soudal–Quick-Step.
On 22 March 2016, two coordinated terrorist attacks in and close to Brussels, Belgium, were carried out by the Islamic State (IS). Two suicide bombers detonated bombs at Brussels Airport in Zaventem just outside Brussels, and one detonated a bomb on a train leaving Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station in the city's European Quarter. Thirty-two people were killed and more than 300 were injured. Three perpetrators also died. A third airport attacker fled the scene without detonating his bomb, which was later found in a search of the airport. A second metro attacker also fled, taking his bomb with him. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner, who is the current world record holder for the indoor 1500 metres and the 2000 metres, and holds the world best time over the two mile distance. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 metres in 2022 and 2023 and a four-time European champion, winning gold medals in the 1500 m and 5000 m in 2018 and 2022. He also won a gold medal in the 1500 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an Olympic and European record. In addition to the 1500 m, Ingebrigtsen holds European records in the mile and 5000 m, and is one of only three men to run a sub-3:30 1500 m, sub-7:30 3000 m and a sub-12:50 5000 m.
Remco Evenepoel is a Belgian professional cyclist and Olympic gold medalist who rides for UCI WorldTeam Soudal–Quick-Step.
The following table is an overview of national records in the 5000 metres.
