Insight
Dominique Monami and Els Callens: “This medal bonded us for life”
Twenty years after their doubles bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics — the first Olympic medal in the history of Belgian tennis — Dominique Monami and Els Callens look back on their shared adventure for Le Soir. They recount how their partnership began, the three-set semifinal against Belarusians Barabanschikova and Zvereva, their “decompression” prep at a restaurant the night before, and the unusual atmosphere of a match played in front of just 500 spectators.
Dominique Monami also reveals that she was two weeks pregnant without knowing it during the Games, before announcing her retirement from the sport at the end of 2000. Twenty-one years later, both players still rank this medal as the high point of their careers, even more for the lasting friendship it sealed between them than for the sporting achievement itself.
