The Most Famous
WRESTLERS from Belgium
Top 6
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Belgian Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Belgian Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Robert Van de Walle (b. 1954)
With an HPI of 46.52, Robert Van de Walle is the most famous Belgian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.
Robert Van de Walle (born 20 May 1954) is a retired Belgian judoka. He was the first judoka to ever compete at five Olympics, from 1976 to 1992. Competing in the half-heavyweight category he won the gold medal in 1980 and a bronze in 1988 at the age of 34. Van de Walle won European titles in 1980, 1985 and 1986. Together with Ingrid Berghmans he was the face of Belgian judo in the late 1970s and 1980s. After retiring from competitions he ran a coaching company together with his wife. He was the head of the Belgian delegation at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In summer 2021, 14 years after obtaining the rank of black belt 8th dan; Van De Walle, currently a member of Judo Club Crossing Schaerbeek, accepted his promotion to 9th dan from the International Judo Federation.
2. Thierry Rey (b. 1959)
With an HPI of 41.41, Thierry Rey is the 2nd most famous Belgian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.
Thierry Rey (born 1 June 1959) is a French judoka, world and olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the extra lightweight (–60 kg) division at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He is the father of Martin Rey-Chirac, as a result of a relation with Claude Chirac, a daughter of late president Jacques Chirac.
3. Toma Nikiforov (b. 1993)
With an HPI of 33.28, Toma Nikiforov is the 3rd most famous Belgian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Toma Nikiforov (born 25 January 1993) is a Belgian judoka who competes in the under 100 kg category. In 2015, he won bronze medals at the world championships and European Games. He placed second at the 2016 European championships, but was eliminated in the second bout at the Rio Olympics. He won the gold medal at the 2018 and 2021 European Championships.
4. Charline Van Snick (b. 1990)
With an HPI of 29.57, Charline Van Snick is the 4th most famous Belgian Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Charline Van Snick (born 2 September 1990 in Liège) is a Belgian retired judoka who won bronze in the women's 48 kg judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She also earned a bronze medal at the 2010 European Judo Championships and a silver medals at the 2012 and 2013 European Judo Championships. Fighting in the –48 kg division, Van Snick was Belgian cadet age class champion in 2006, and Belgian junior champion in 2007. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 European Junior Championships at the age of 17. She won the 2009 European Junior Championships and placed 5th in the 2009 World Junior Championships. As a reward for this, she was awarded the Sports Merit Trophy distributed by the French Community. In 2010, she won at her first senior European Championship medal, a bronze, in Vienna. In 2012 Van Snick won the silver medal at the European Championships. On Saturday 28 July 2012, she won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games 2012 in London. In the qualifying round, she beat the Korean Chung Jung-yeon with ippon. In the quarter-finals, she beat the Hungarian Éva Csernoviczki, also with ippon. She lost in the semi-finals against the eventual Olympic champion, Sarah Menezes to yuko. The match which decided the bronze medal was won by Van Snick against the Argentinian Paula Pareto, after the latter got a second shido. In April 2013 Van Snick won the silver medal at the European Championships, losing in the final to Csernoviczki. She won two gold medals at European Championship level, in 2015 and 2016, as well as silvers in 2012 and 2013. At the end of 2016, having lost in the second round at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Van Snick moved up to the –52 kg weight division. In 2021, she competed in the women's 52 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
5. Matthias Casse (b. 1997)
With an HPI of 29.41, Matthias Casse is the 5th most famous Belgian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Matthias Casse (born 19 February 1997) is a Belgian judoka who won the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
6. Soniya Bhatta (b. 2002)
With an HPI of 0.00, Soniya Bhatta is the 6th most famous Belgian Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into different languages.
Soniya Bhatta (born 4 January 2002) is a Nepali professional judoka, she represents Nepal internationally in Judo Tournament in the Extra-lightweight (48 kg) event.
People
Pantheon has 6 people classified as Belgian wrestlers born between 1954 and 2002. Of these 6, 6 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Belgian wrestlers include Robert Van de Walle, Thierry Rey, and Toma Nikiforov. As of April 2024, 1 new Belgian wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Soniya Bhatta.
Living Belgian Wrestlers
Go to all Rankings
Robert Van de Walle
1954 - Present
HPI: 46.52
Thierry Rey
1959 - Present
HPI: 41.41
Toma Nikiforov
1993 - Present
HPI: 33.28
Charline Van Snick
1990 - Present
HPI: 29.57
Matthias Casse
1997 - Present
HPI: 29.41
Soniya Bhatta
2002 - Present
HPI: 0.00
