The FBK Games and the Making of a Class 1 Track Fit for Legends
FBK Stadion, Hengelo, Netherlands
Built in the 1980s, the FBK Stadion was named after the legendary Dutch athlete, Fanny Blankers-Koen. Blankers-Koen was a four-time Olympic gold medalist and is considered one of the greatest female athletes of all time. The stadium has a seating capacity of 15,200 and is known for its state-of-the-art facilities including a World Athletics Class 1 Certified Rekortan M track. With a purpose-built design that ensures optimal visibility for spectators, the FBK Stadion provides an unforgettable experience for both athletes and fans.
The Gold-standard FBK Games is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour
The FBK Games is one of the most prestigious athletics events in the Netherlands, attracting world-class athletes from around the globe. The event, which is one of 14 Gold events on The World Athletics Continental Tour, is held annually at the FBK Stadion in Hengelo, a city located in the eastern part of the country. The tour is the second tier of international one-day meetings after the Diamond League and is categorized by Gold, Silver and Bronze Challenge-level events. The Maurie Plant Meet, at the Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne is also run on Rekortan.
“It is a beautiful athletics stadium. It has a big capacity but with an intimate feel which is the best of both worlds.”
Rekortan M Track stages a run of meeting records at 2023 FBK Games
This year’s event took place on 4 June and clocked a host of meeting and national records. Double Olympic champion and 2023 London Marathon winner, Sifan Hassan (ETH), took the 10,000m and 1500m crowns with times of 29:37.80 and 3:58.12 respectively. Dutch star, Femke Bol, delighted the home crowd with a massive meeting record of 50.11s in the 400m. World Champion, Grant Holloway (USA) set a new 110m hurdles meeting record of 13:03s and Bassant Hemida set a new Egyptian record over 200m crossing the line in 22:41. Flying the flag for the next generation of stars, World U20 champion, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi (BWA) clinched the men’s 400m in an impressive 45.01s.
The story behind the track
In the aftermath of this year’s successful event, we take a closer look at the story behind the FBK Stadion track that has seen no shortage of World Class action since its inception five years ago.
Credit: Aflo Co. Ltd. / Alamy Stock Photo
re-topping the track
In 2018 Polytan delivered a full re-topping of the FBK Stadion track with Rekortan M which is World Athletics’ most certified track system. During the four-week project which included the 8-lane track and 9 sprint lanes, Polytan also re-topped the pole vault and long jump areas with a Rekortan spray coat. Alongside the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam which also sports a Rekortan track from Polytan (read more here), the FBK Stadion is one of the two biggest stadiums in the Netherlands so it was a great project to work on. Polytan worked with their experienced installation partner in the Netherlands, Antea Group, who have vast local knowledge and have installed many tracks here which made for a smooth delivery.
what makes the FBK Stadion special
You don’t need to look much further than its name to know it is special. Fanny Blankers-Koen was such a legend in the sport. She won four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, and in 1999 was named IAAF Female Athlete of the Century.
In the Netherlands, athletics stadiums aren’t shared with other sports so this is a pure athletics venue. There’s no football field on the inside which means the track community has exclusive use of the facility. Because the stadium is only used for athletics, they are able to place the jump runways inside the track, alongside the straights, which is an excellent position for spectators.
Credit: Orange Pics BV / Alamy Stock Photo
To top it off, it is a beautiful athletics stadium. It has a big capacity but with an intimate feel which is the best of both worlds. It brings the fans close to the action which creates an incredible environment.
Amsterdam Olympic Stadium
Polytan, with the world’s largest installation network, has been installing tracks around the world for over 50 years. In The Netherlands, the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium is the other standout track venue. This stadium is one of the most beautiful in the world. It has a unique Art Deco style and was designed by architect Jan Wils, who won the Olympic Gold medal for architecture for his work on the stadium.
A Rekortan PUR World Athletics Class 1 certificated track was installed by Polytan when the venue was upgraded for the 2016 European Athletics Championships.