Der Trainer von Nafi Thiam schlägt bei der Leichtathletikveration ein: „Ich schäme mich, Belgier zu sein. Man kann sich nicht auf eine solche Weltmeisterschaft vorbereiten.“
https://sporza.be/nl/2025/09/20/coach-van-nafi-thiam-haalt-zwaar-uit-naar-atletiekbond-ik-ben-beschaamd-om-belg-te-zijn-zo-kun-je-geen-wk-voorbereiden~1758349040651/
Von Mofaluna
7 Kommentare
Have we gotten any positive news about Belgian Athletics since the last Olympics? Feels like a lot of management should be fired with all of those athletes complaining.
I can’t pretend i know all the details of what happened, and i’m sure there are some wrongs from each party, but… Nafi Thiam is one of the top Belgian athletes in our history, definitely the best one on the track. And she was let down by the federation because someone had an egotrip, and that cost her the chance of another medal. Fifty years from today, people will remember Nafi. Nobody will remember the head of the federation in five years. I don’t even know their name. Shame.
Some political parties want the end of Belgium. Funding into sport and culture are getting ridiculous. The federation is surely to blame, but there is something larger at hand.
Nafi is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Yeah she’s independent and doesn’t always play by the federations book, but that kind of mindset is why athletes at this level succeed. Look at how they clear the way for someone like Noah Lyles to just focus on performing. Instead of supporting Nafi in the same way, the federation decided to flex its ego and now we’ve lost our best shot at gold. Not discounting Isaac Kimeli tho, he was on fire yesterday!
Let’s cancel sponsors for the federation and have everyone pay for themselves then.
The entire federation management has to STEP down NOW !
The incompetence, the shenanigans, the greed is absolutely unacceptable.
We have had ONE worldclass athlete in a generation. That’s her. She’s a legend of the sport. And she has to deal with this bullshit !?? I’m beyond angry.
Anyone defending what’s happened or trying to do the bothsideism can just go eat grass in a field.
Just days before the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, triple gold medallist heptathlete Nafi Thiam entered into a public dispute with Belgian Athletics, the Belgian federation.
Thiam claims the federation prevented her from joining its pre-camp and did not accredit her physiotherapist. She said this was a form of punishment because she did not sign the federation’s code of conduct. The code of conduct requires athletes to wear official team kit at championships. Thiam’s personal sponsor is Nike, while the federation’s sponsor is Asics, which has created a conflict over image rights. Thiam stated that she was notified she was not allowed to join the camp just five days before her departure.
The president of the Ligue Belge Francophone d’Athlétisme (LBFA), Jessica Mayon, has rejected Thiam’s claims, stating she has written proof that Thiam’s statements are untrue and that Thiam was welcome at the camp. Mayon added that Thiam received financial support like other team members. Although athletes must typically sign the code of conduct to participate in championships, the federation made an exception for Thiam, allowing her to compete without signing it.
Despite the controversy, Thiam said her focus was on her performance at the championships. However, she retired from the heptathlon after five events, and her coach stated he withdrew her from the competition. The conflict with the Belgian federation, which revolves around financial deals and publicity, was mentioned by Thiam earlier in the championships.