The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Belgium

This page contains a list of the greatest Belgian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 38 of which were born in Belgium. This makes Belgium the birth place of the 29th most number of Athletes behind South Korea, and Austria.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Belgian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Belgian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Belgian Athletes.

1. Gaston Roelants (b. 1937)

With an HPI of 54.48, Gaston Roelants is the most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.

Gaston, Baron Roelants (born 5 February 1937), is a Belgian former elite steeplechaser and cross country runner. He won the 1962 European and 1964 Olympic titles in the 3000 m steeplechase and twice broke the world record.

2. Gaston Reiff (1921 - 1992)

With an HPI of 53.93, Gaston Reiff is the 2nd most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Gaston Étienne Ghislaine Reiff (24 February 1921 – 6 May 1992) was a Belgian runner. He competed at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in the 5000 m event and won it in 1948, defeating Emil Zátopek in the final and becoming the first Belgian track and field athlete to win an Olympic title. He lost to Zátopek at the 1950 European Championships, placing third. Reiff competed in boxing and football before changing to athletics. Besides his Olympic gold medal he set world records in the 2000 m, 3000 m and 2 miles and won 24 national titles; in 1951 he held Belgian records on distances ranging from 1000 m to 10000 m. A street in Braine-l'Alleud and the town's stadium are named after Reiff in his home town of Braine-l'Alleud.

3. Hubert Van Innis (1866 - 1961)

With an HPI of 53.91, Hubert Van Innis is the 3rd most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Gerard Theodor Hubert Van Innis (24 February 1866 – 25 November 1961) was a Belgian competitor in the sport of archery; he competed in two Summer Olympics 20 years apart and came away with a total of six gold medals and three silver medals. As a young boy, the story goes he was forced to work as a milk delivery boy in the villages around Brussels, and at the end of his deliveries he would send his dog and cart home while he went off to practice his archery skills. When he was 13 years old, he won the first prize in a main competition in Antwerp. He also won the prize in 1893, 1894, 1895 and 1896. In 1881, he won the royan prize of Roozendaal. Van Innis was 34 years old when he competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France. He entered four events; he won gold medals in the Au Cordon Doré 33 metres and the Au Chapelet 33 metres events, and he also came second behind Frenchman Henri Hérouin in the Au Cordon Doré 50 metres. His worst result of the Games was a fourth place in the Au Chapelet 50 metres. Van Innis had to wait another twenty years before competing on the Olympic stage. Aged 54, he entered the 1920 Summer Olympics held on his home soil in Antwerp, Belgium, where he added to his medal tally with two more individual gold medals in the Individual moving bird, 28 metres, beating Frenchman Léonce Quentin (his only competitor in this event) and the Individual moving bird, 33 metres. He then lost to Frenchman Julien Brulé in the Individual moving bird, 50 metres, to win a silver medal. He also added three team medals with two more golds in the Team moving bird, 50 metres; Team moving bird, 33 metres; and a silver medal in the Team moving bird, 28 metres. His final Olympic medal tally was six gold medals and three silver medals. Unbelievably—when aged 67 years old, 13 years after his final Olympic victories—he went on to win in the 1933 World Championships. His legacy has continued through his family; his great-grandson Philippe Prieels has competed in the World Archery Championships, and his great-great-granddaughter Sarah Prieels has also competed in the World Archery Championships.

4. Robert Hennet (1886 - 1930)

With an HPI of 53.30, Robert Hennet is the 4th most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Robert Hennet (22 January 1886 – 2 July 1957) was a Belgian fencer. He won a gold medal in the team épée event at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

5. Ivo Van Damme (1954 - 1976)

With an HPI of 50.22, Ivo Van Damme is the 5th most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Ivo Van Damme (21 February 1954 – 29 December 1976) was a Belgian middle-distance runner. Van Damme played football until he was 16, but then switched to athletics. His breakthrough came in 1973, when he placed fourth in the 800 m at the European Junior Championships. He suffered from mononucleosis the following season, but returned strong beating Roger Moens's 1955 national 800 m record. The record stood for 48 years and was finally bettered by Eliott Crestan in 2024. In 1976, he won the European indoor title over this distance, and was one of the favourites for a medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He eventually ended up second in both the 800 and 1500 m, finishing behind Alberto Juantorena and John Walker, respectively. These were his last successes, as Van Damme was killed in a car accident later that year while travelling home from Marseille in southern France. He was to marry Rita Thijs in 1977. Since 1977, a memorial competition has been held in Brussels to remember him, the Memorial Van Damme, which is now the championship final for selected disciplines of the Diamond League athletics tour.

6. Victor Willems (1877 - 1918)

With an HPI of 49.20, Victor Willems is the 6th most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Victor Willems (19 February 1877 – 1920) was a Belgian fencer. He won a bronze medal in the team épée event at the 1908 Summer Olympics and a gold in the same event at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

7. Emiel Puttemans (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 48.99, Emiel Puttemans is the 7th most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Emiel Adrien "Miel" Puttemans (born 8 October 1947) is a Belgian former middle- and long-distance runner who set world records for 3000 metres (7 minutes 37.6 seconds) in 1972, for 2 miles (8 minutes 17.8 seconds) in 1971, for 5000 metres (13 minutes 13 seconds) in 1972, and 3 miles in 1972 (12:47.8). He won two European Indoor Championships titles in the 3000 m, in 1973 and 1974, and finished second in 1978. At the 1972 Summer Olympics, Puttemans won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres and finished in fifth place in the 5000 metres. He then set a world record in the 5000 metres six days after the 1972 games. He also competed in these events at the 1968, 1976 and 1980 Games, but with less success. In 1982, Puttemans won the first edition of the Rome Marathon.

8. Joël Robert (1943 - 2021)

With an HPI of 48.92, Joël Robert is the 8th most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Joël Robert (26 November 1943 – 13 January 2021) was a Belgian professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1962 to 1976 when the sport experienced a surge in popularity worldwide. A six-time world champion, Robert dominated the 250cc class for almost a decade when, he placed either first or second every year between 1964 and 1972 including, five consecutive world championships. In 1964, he was named the recipient of the Belgian National Sports Merit Award. He won a total of 50 Grand Prix races over his career, a record which stood for nearly 30 years. Robert's success on the race track along with his impish personality made him one of the most publicized and popular motocross racers of the early 1970s. He was known as one of the most naturally talented motocross riders of his era however, he was also notorious for his cigarette smoking and lack of physical training despite his portly physique. His rivalry with Torsten Hallman produced some of the best races in the history of the championships. Robert played an integral role in the introduction of the sport of motocross in the United States and, served as inspiration to early American motocross racers. He was recognized for his contribution to the development of American motocross in 2000 when, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. In 2020, Robert was named an FIM Motocross Legend.

9. Louis Glineur (1849 - 1901)

With an HPI of 48.54, Louis Glineur is the 9th most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Louis Edouard Albert Glineur (born 10 December 1849, date of death unknown) was a Belgian competitor in the sport of archery. Glineur competed in one event, taking third place in the Sur la Perche à la Pyramide competition. He is now considered by the International Olympic Committee to have won a bronze medal[1]. No scores are known from that competition.

10. Étienne Gailly (1922 - 1971)

With an HPI of 48.42, Étienne Gailly is the 10th most famous Belgian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Étienne Gailly (French pronunciation: [etjɛn ɡaji]; 26 November 1922, Beringen – 3 November 1971, Genval) was a Belgian soldier and Olympic athlete who competed mainly in the Marathon.

People

Pantheon has 154 people classified as Belgian athletes born between 1758 and 2005. Of these 154, 121 (78.57%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Belgian athletes include Gaston Roelants, Emiel Puttemans, and Karel Lismont. The most famous deceased Belgian athletes include Gaston Reiff, Hubert Van Innis, and Robert Hennet. As of April 2024, 115 new Belgian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Louis Glineur, Emmanuel Foulon, and Jules De Bisschop.