Benny Vansteelant (19 November 1976 – 14 September 2007) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

duathlete Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally. Distance and format ...

. For the first decade of the 21st century he was the uncontested icon of Duathlon, winning more than 80% of the races he started at.

Life

He was born in

Torhout Torhout (; french: Thourout; vls, Toeroet) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henricus, and the hamlet of De Dri ...

. A book describing his early life and his rise to the top of the duathlon scene has been published in Dutch ( "Meneer Duatlon"). On September 8, 2007, Vansteelant was hit by a car during training on his bike. He suffered a

broken leg The human leg, in the general word sense, is the entire lower limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh or sometimes even the hip or gluteal region. However, the definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb ext ...

, facial injuries, a torn

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

and damage to

lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of th ...

and

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

. In the days after the accident, he seemed to recover well and was getting close to leaving the

intensive care Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...

section of the hospital in

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

on September 13. But one day later, Vansteelant suffered a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. Despite receiving

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

in time, he died of a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...

in the early morning. Vansteelant's achievements included World Junior title in 1997, ITU World standard distance (10 km-40 km-10 km) champion in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, ITU World long distance champion in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006 and ETU European champion in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007. In 2001 he won all three titles in the same season. Vansteelant also won the

Powerman Duathlon Powerman Duathlons are duathlon events that are competed over middle distance (10 km run, 60 km bike, 10 km run) to long distance (10 km run, 150 km bike, 30 km run) duathlons across the globe at both Age Group and ...

World long distance (10 km-150 km-30 km) championship in 2005 and 2006. He was awarded the 'Sport Jewel of Flanders' in 2003,

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

' highest honour to award a sportsman. Benny’s younger brother, Joerie, has continued the Vansteelant tradition and has also had considerable success in elite Duathlon, including four world titles.

Honours

*ITU World Championship Duathlon (standard distance): **Winner (4): 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 *ITU World Championship Duathlon (long distance): **Winner (4): 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006 *ETU European Championship Duathlon: **Winner (5): 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007 *Powerman World Championship Duathlon: **Winner (2): 2005, 2006

External links

Benny Vansteelant official site

"Duathlete dies aged 30"
1976 births 2007 deaths Belgian sportspeople Sport deaths in Belgium Duathletes Deaths from pulmonary embolism Belgian male triathletes Road incident deaths in Belgium People from Torhout Sportspeople from West Flanders {{Belgium-triathlon-bio-stub