Museum of World Athletics welcomes bronze trophy from Memorial Van Damme

The Museum of World Athletics (MOWA) is pleased to announce the latest addition to its permanent collection: a unique bronze sculpture generously donated by the Memorial Van Damme, Belgium’s premier athletics meeting and a cornerstone of the Wanda Diamond League.

The bronze statue was officially given to the MOWA at a dinner in Monaco hosted by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe on Friday (11).

Wilfried Meert, the founder and longtime director of the Memorial Van Damme who led the event from its launch in 1977 until 2017 and remains its commemorative advisor, presented the sculpture to Coe who accepted it on behalf of the museum.

Bronze celebrating art and athletics donated to MOWA

Commissioned especially for the 2005 edition of the prestigious Brussels-based athletics meeting, the 35 x 40cm sculpture captures the suspended motion of a female hurdler mid-jump. With elongated limbs and a stylised arch, the bronze figure embodies speed, elegance and strength. The delicate form of the feet, reminiscent of hooves, subtly alludes to the grace of a gazelle.

The unique bronze sculpture donated by the Memorial Van Damme to the MOWA

Patrick Vermeiren, 38 at the time, was a self-taught artist working from his studio in Beveren-Waas. Known for merging realism with lyrical abstraction, his work explores motion, emotion and the human form. Represented by the Artifex gallery in Bruges, Vermeiren’s art has been exhibited across Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the UK.

Meert’s vision: when athletics meets contemporary art

The donation is also a celebration of a unique tradition established by Meert.

“In 1986, I came up with the idea to commission an artist each year to create the official poster or the winner’s trophy,” recalls Meert. “It started quite spontaneously at an art fair in Ghent, where an artist recognised me. I asked if he would make our poster and to my surprise, he agreed.”

From that moment, the meeting has regularly collaborated with a wide range of visual artists. One of the most memorable works was the 2001 poster designed by Jean-Michel Folon, the internationally acclaimed Belgian artist known for his poetic and instantly recognisable visual style.

“I met him during a visit to the Herculis Meeting in Monaco,” adds Meert. “I I didn’t expect him to say yes, but he did. His poster became iconic.”

Folon had contributed to the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games with a poster, as part of a portfolio that also featured works by rock-star artists Andy Warhol and David Hockney. The intersection of contemporary art and sport gained renewed global visibility at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where figures such as Hockney, Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein were commissioned to create official posters, a tradition that continued at the 1988 Seoul Games with a contribution from renowned French painter Pierre Soulages.

Meert also remembers a unique moment ahead of the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing.

“I was in Knokke, a coastal town in Belgium, when I walked into a gallery exhibiting works by the Chinese artist Liu Yujun for the first time,” he recalls. “I asked the gallerist if he would design our poster for the 2008 edition, and I received a positive reply! He even came to our press conference in Brussels, even though he didn’t speak a word of French or English.”

A tradition of elegance, creativity and philanthropy in athletics

Art has also played a philanthropic role in the Memorial’s history, with past sculptures auctioned to benefit humanitarian organisations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres.

“We’ve always wanted to bring elegance to the sport, combining athletics with art,” Meert explains. “Athletics doesn’t enjoy year-round media coverage like football or cycling. But unveiling a new artwork months ahead of the meeting helps us reach the public in a creative and meaningful way.”

The 2005 trophy now becomes part of the MOWA’s growing archive of historic objects that celebrate the global culture of track and field. It also serves as a tribute to one of the sport’s most storied events.

The next edition of the Memorial Van Damme takes place on 22 August at Brussels’ King Baudouin Stadium, which has been the site of 16 world records since the meeting's inception. Named in memory of Ivo Van Damme, the Belgian double Olympic silver medallist tragically killed in a car accident in 1976 at the age of 22, the meeting remains a shining tribute to excellence in middle and long-distance running, with world records set over the years by legends such as Coe, Sifan Hassan and Kenenisa Bekele.

Pierre-Jean Vazel for World Athletics Heritage

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