Alfons ("Fons") Brydenbach (12 October 1954 – 8 May 2009) was a Belgian sprinter who specialized in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

. He is a former

world indoor record World records in Sport of athletics, athletics are ratified by World Athletics. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking. Records are kept for athletics at the Summer Olympi ...

holder.

Career

He was born in 1954 in

Vorselaar Vorselaar () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Vorselaar proper. In 2021, Vorselaar had a total population of 7,995. The total area is 27.62 km2. Famous inhabitants * C ...

. In 1973 he won the gold medal at the European Junior Championships. With the time of 45.86 seconds he smashed the previous championship record. The championship record stood until 1979, when Hartmut Weber broke it. Also in 1973, he took his first Belgian title in the 400 metres. He would defend 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981, but faced competition from Mario De Marchi, Christian Allemeersch and Eddy De Leeuw. Brydenbach also won the Belgian

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

title in 1975 and the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

title in 1974 and 1975. In 1974 Brydenbach won the gold medal at the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet courts. Finals Singles Doubles See also * Berlin Open ...

, ahead of

Andreas Scheibe Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...

and Günter Arnold. In the same year he set a new

with 45.9 seconds. At the 1975 European Indoor Championships he only reached the semi-final, but at the 1977 European Indoor Championships, he won another gold medal. In 1976, still only 21 years old, Brydenbach competed at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

in Montreal. After running in 45.28 seconds in the semi-final, he improved to 45.04 seconds in the final race. He finished fourth, but the time was a lifetime best result. It was a Belgian record, and stood until 2003 when Cédric Van Branteghem broke it. He came close to improving the result at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

, where he finished fifth in the final with 45.10 seconds. He also competed in the

4 x 400 metre relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, but the team failed to finish. The next year he contributed to a Belgian record in this event—3:03.68 minutes, which stood until 2008. Brydenbach also won the gold medal at the

1977 Summer Universiade The 1977 Summer Universiade, also known as the IX Summer Universiade or World University Games, took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. Sports * * * * * * * * * * Medal table References * Athletics *World Student Games (Universiade - Men)- GB ...

. His new championship record of 45.18 seconds stood for two years. Brydenbach had 10.46 seconds in the 100 metres and 20.68 seconds in the 200 metres, both achieved in 1975.

Personal life and death

Brydenbach held a master's degree in physical education from the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

, and worked as a teacher. He was married, had three children and resided in Wechelderzande. He died of bladder cancer in May 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brydenbach, Fons 1954 births 2009 deaths Deaths from bladder cancer Deaths from cancer in Belgium Belgian male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Belgium World record setters in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for Belgium Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade