Helena Ponette
.jpg) Helena Ponette in 2024. | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Belgian | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 February 2000 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | Belgium | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Event | 400 metres | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Hermes Club Oostende | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Helena Ponette (born 3 February 2000) is a Belgian sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. She competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a 400 metres runner and as a member of the Belgian women's 4x400 metres and mixed 4x400 metres relay teams. She also participated at multiple World and European Athletics championships, indoor and outdoor, individually and as a member of the 4x400 metres relay teams. She was national champion in the women's 400 metres in 2023.
Career
[edit]Ponette competed in the 4 x 400 m event at the 2021 European U23 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.[1] At the same event, she was selected for the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, but did not start.[2]
In 2022, Ponette finished second at the 2022 Belgian Athletics Championships behind Naomi Van Den Broeck in the 400 m with a time of 51.93 s. She was the fifth Belgian to run faster than 52 s. She thus secured a place in the Belgian 4 x 400 m relay team for the World Championships later that year in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A.[3]
In 2023, she was a member of the Belgian 4 x 400 m relay team at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary that finished 5th in the final.[4][5] She also ran the 400 metres where she was eliminated in the heats but did run a personal best.[6][7]
Her international debut with the seniors Belgium 4 x 400 m relay team came at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon where the team finished 6th.[8] Little more than a month later, she and the team finished 4th at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, Germany .[9][10]
In 2024, at the World Athletics Relays in The Bahamas, she was on the team that qualified Belgium for the women's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France.[11] And later that same year, she was on the Belgian 4 x 400 metres women's relay team that won a bronze medal at the European Athletics Championships having anchored the team in the final.[12]
At the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, she ran in the heats and final of both the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay and the women's 4 × 400 metres relay with the Belgium teams finishing 4th resp. 7th in the finals.[13][14] Having also qualified individually for the women's 400 metres via the World Athletics Rankings,[15] she finished 6th in her round 1 heat and was eliminated in the repechages [16][17] but did set a new personal best of 51.46seconds. [18][19]
International competitions
[edit]| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Belgium
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| 2022 | European Championships | Munich, Germany | 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:22.12 |
| World Championships | Eugene, Oregon, USA | 6th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.29 | |
| 10th | 4 × 400 m relay mixed | 3:16.01 | |||
| 2023 | European Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 7th (sf) | 400 m | 53.07 |
| World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 27 (h) | 400 m | 51.52 PB | |
| 5th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:22.84 | |||
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, Scotland | 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:28.05 |
| World Relays | Nassau, The Bahamas | 1st (r) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.79 | |
| European Championships | Rome, Italy | 11th (sf) | 400 m | 51.65 | |
|
4 × 400 m relay | 3:22.95 | |||
| 4th | 4 × 400 m relay mixed | 3:11.03 | |||
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 14th (r) | 400 m | 51.46 | |
| 7th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:22.40 | |||
| 4th | 4 × 400 m relay mixed | 3:09.36 | |||
Personal bests
[edit]Outdoor
- 200 metres – 23.65 (Oordegem 2022)
- 400 metres – 51.46 (Paris 2024)
Indoor
- 200 metres – 25.41 (Gent 2020)
- 400 metres – 52.31 (Istanbul 2023)
References
[edit]- ^ Dekie, Gunther (7 July 2021). "Helena Ponette neemt met 4x400m estafetteteam deel aan EK U23: "Finale is realistische doelstelling"" (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws.
- ^ "België stuurt 12 atleten en 2 aflossingsteams naar het WK indoor in Servië" (in Dutch). Sporza. 9 March 2022.
- ^ "België trekt met 29 atleten naar het WK in Eugene (VS)" (in Dutch). Sporza. 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Bekijk de onwaarschijnlijke ontknoping van de 4x400m bij de vrouwen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Pas de médaille mais un meilleur résultat égalé : les Cheetahs terminent 5e de la finale du 4x400m" (in French). RTBF. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Belgische weelde op het WK atletiek: Bolingo, Doom en Borlée stoten door op de 400 meter, Watrin op de 400 meter horden én Rosius op de 100 meter" (in Dutch). Sporza. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Cynthia Bolingo en demi-finale du 400m, Helena Ponette éliminée malgré un record personnel" (in French). RTBF. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Mondiaux d'athlétisme : les Belgian Cheetahs terminent sixièmes de la finale, l'or pour les Etats-Unis" (in French). RTBF. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ "Plaats 4 doet ondanks record pijn bij Cheetahs: "Mooie ervaring, maar heel frustrerend"" (in Dutch). Sporza. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ "Les Belgian Cheetahs terminent au pied du podium à l'issue d'un 4x400m de folie, nouveau record de Belgique à la clé" (in French). RTBF. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ "World Relays - Les Belgian Cheetahs décrochent leur entrée aux JO lors des repêchages du 4x400 m dames" (in French). La Libre Belgique. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^ "Gold and bronze for Belgian men and women in 4x400m relay" (in French). Belga (news agency). 12 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^ "WOMEN'S 4 X 400M RELAY FINAL RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "4 X 400M RELAY MIXED FINAL RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Road to Paris 24". World Athletics. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "WOMEN'S 400M ROUND 1 RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "WOMEN'S 400M REPECHAGE ROUND RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Balen voor Belgen in ochtendsessie: Elise Vanderelst krijgt nog 2e kans, einde verhaal voor 3 anderen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "JO 2024 - Helena Ponette éliminée en repêchages du 400m malgré un record personnel" (in French). La Libre Belgique. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
