Helena Ponette

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Helena Ponette
Helena Ponette in 2024.
Personal information
NationalityBelgian
Born (2000-02-03) 3 February 2000 (age 25)
Sport
CountryBelgium
SportAthletics
Event400 metres
ClubHermes Club Oostende
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Belgium
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Rome 4×400 m relay
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place 2025 Apeldoorn 4×400 m mixed

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. Also at the time of 2024 Olympic Games, she was finishing her studies in medicine at KU Leuven, and starting internship in September 2024.[1]

Career

Ponette competed in the 4 x 400 m event at the 2021 European U23 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.[2] At the same event, she was selected for the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, but did not start.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5] Little more than a month later, she and the team finished 4th at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, Germany .[6][7]

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.[8][9] She also ran the 400 metres where she was eliminated in the heats but did run a personal best.[10][11]

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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14][15] Having also qualified individually for the women's 400 metres via the World Athletics Rankings,[16] she finished 6th in her round 1 heat and was eliminated in the repechages [17][18] but did set a new personal best of 51.46 seconds. [19][20]

In March 2025, she ran the anchor leg of Belgium's 4×400 m mixed relay team that won a silver medal at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.[21] [22]

Personal life

Her parents are physicians, so are her grandfathers. A younger brother is also a medical student as of 2024.[1]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Belgium
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
3rd 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
2025 European Indoor Championships Apeldoorn, Netherlands 2nd 4 × 400 m relay mixed 3:16.19
13th (h) 400 m 52.32

Personal bests

Outdoor

Indoor

References

  1. ^ a b ""Ik word naast de atletiek ook graag mentaal nog uitgedaagd"" (in Dutch). De Specialist. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  2. ^ Dekie, Gunther (7 July 2021). "Helena Ponette neemt met 4x400m estafetteteam deel aan EK U23: "Finale is realistische doelstelling"" (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws.
  3. ^ "België stuurt 12 atleten en 2 aflossingsteams naar het WK indoor in Servië" (in Dutch). Sporza. 9 March 2022.
  4. ^ "België trekt met 29 atleten naar het WK in Eugene (VS)" (in Dutch). Sporza. 4 July 2022.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Plaats 4 doet ondanks record pijn bij Cheetahs: "Mooie ervaring, maar heel frustrerend"" (in Dutch). Sporza. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Bekijk de onwaarschijnlijke ontknoping van de 4x400m bij de vrouwen" (in Dutch). Sporza. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "Cynthia Bolingo en demi-finale du 400m, Helena Ponette éliminée malgré un record personnel" (in French). RTBF. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Gold and bronze for Belgian men and women in 4x400m relay" (in French). Belga (news agency). 12 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  14. ^ "WOMEN'S 4 X 400M RELAY FINAL RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  15. ^ "4 X 400M RELAY MIXED FINAL RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Road to Paris 24". World Athletics. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  17. ^ "WOMEN'S 400M ROUND 1 RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  18. ^ "WOMEN'S 400M REPECHAGE ROUND RESULTS". www.olympics.com. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ "Femke Bol inspires Dutch to historic 4x400m mixed relay title at Apeldoorn 2025". European Athletic Association. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  22. ^ "ZILVER! Gemengde estafetteploeg schenkt België meteen medaille op openingsdag EK indoor" [SILVER! Mixed relay team immediately awards Belgium with medal on opening day of European Indoor Championships] (in Dutch). Sporza. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.