Updated:05/08/2021 09: 40h
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He is responsible for one of the images of the Games. Thomas Van der Plaetsen, a Belgian decathlete, was about to make his first attempt at the longitude test, but as he rose into the air he slipped and fell face first into the sand pit. Motionless and shocked, he needed assistance before he recovered. The accident was more serious than expected and the Belgian had to leave the stadium in a wheelchair. Their competition was over.
???? Spectacular fall of the Belgian Van der Plaetsen! He has landed on his face in the sand of the long jump pit!
???? They had to take him out of the stadium in a wheelchair # TokyoRTVE4Ahttps://t.co/rqFw8KW7qRpic.twitter.com/OUbMhq6qCM
– RTVE Deportes (@deportes_rtve) August 4, 2021
Shortly after, more information began to be known about an athlete who has had to fight hard against misfortune to get ahead. In 2014 he tested positive in an anti-doping control. A test she had undergone revealed too high levels of the hormone HGC, which is present in many weight loss products. Convinced of his innocence, Van der Plaetsen went to a hospital for further tests to prove his innocence. There they confirmed that his HGC levels were indeed higher than usual, but the cause was other than doping. The Belgian had a tumor in his testicles.
At 23 years old, Van der Plaetsen he had to put his sports career on hold and focus on his recovery. Fortunately, the chemotherapy sessions worked, and the Belgian was able to regain normalcy a year later. His trip to Rio to participate in the 2016 Games was his great success, although before he had already been able to win gold at the European Championship in Amsterdam.
He arrived in Tokyo in full, with 30 years and after achieving a mark of 8,430 points in May, which left him with many possibilities of repeating an Olympic diploma.
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