Kevin Rans, Part Two

Kevin competed in February with the other pole vaulting stars in Donetsk, Ukraine, where he improved his personal best and became the Belgian record holder.

Some pics and a video from that event but first I have added three more from last summer in Helsinki.

Mad about Kevin Rans

Kevin Rans is a Flemish pole vaulter living in Merksem (Antwerp), Belgium. He represents the Vlaamse Atletiekliga and has his 24th birthday on August 19 this year. Currently Kevin works for the Belgian Armed Forces.




Kevin is 1.87 m tall and weighs 80 kg. He cleared the Belgian polevault record 5.70 on February 12, 2006 in Donetsk, Ukraine.


He also represented Belgium at the Helsinki World Championships in Athletics last summer. Two pics from the rainy Thrsday evening on August 11 2005.

A video of his impressive performance at the KBC Indoor Meeting in Gent last February 12 is below. Would a little smile be too much to ask…

President Halonen inaugurated for her second term

Finnish President Tarja Halonen began yesterday March 1 her second and last six-year term in office by emphasizing the importance of social fairness and shared responsibility.

In the inauguration speech in Parliament she said that thanks to the two core values, Finland of today was wealthier and more competitive than ever before.
"Yet we also have our problems. Income differentials are again growing, and new poverty has emerged in Finland. The pay for a full-time job is not enough to support a family," she said.
"Women still earn about 80 per cent of what men earn on average. There are problems with the system of welfare services, and employees have difficulty coping at work. Social inequality takes many forms."

Halonen is unique among heads of state in that she has been the chairwoman of a national LGBT organisation, the Finnish National organization for Sexual Equality, SETA.

A summary of her work with SETA was compiled six year ago when she was elected for the first time, and can be found here.