Elise Van Truÿen

Elise Van Truyen was one of the top Belgian female athletics competitors for most of the 1920s and 1930s. A member of the Bruxelles Fémina Club, Van Truyen was the Belgian record holder in high jump and long jump, and the winner of 15 total national championship titles in those two events over the course of two decades. In her early athletics career, she also saw success as a sprinter, winning the national championships in the 80, 100, and 300 metres. Van Truyen also twice bettered the world record in the high jump with 1.495 and 1.512, at a 1924 athletics meet in London, although neither mark was ratified. She was also active as a footballer, playing with Brussels Fémina as a goalkeeper.

A member of the 1928 Belgian athletics delegation to the Amsterdam Olympic Games, she competed in the women’s high jump event, as well as on the 4 × 100 metres relay team. Van Truyen remained active in athletics competitions until the late 1930s.

Personal Best: HJ – 1.55 (1924).