Our story

Hey, we're Ine & Michiel. But you probably know by now.
We're a couple from Belgium who currently work and live in Vancouver. We met at a coaching course in back in 2021 and lived in Leuven (the 'Tracktown' of Europe) until 2025 until Ine got a job offer upon finishing her PhD. Today, she's researching female athlete biomechanics at Simon Fraser University (SFU) as a Postdoctoral fellow. 

Michiel used to work as a marketing & project manager in Belgium, while also having his own coaching and consultancy business. He quit his fulltime job to join Ine in Canada and was lucky enough to find a job in the sport he loved the most. He works as a part-time assistant at SFU for the Track & Field and Cross Country program that is part of the NCAA, a well-known competition between universities in the US. Alongside, he continues to grow his independent endeavors, like STRIDE Athlete Management.
 

Our athletic background
 

Both of us used to compete in Track and Field and since we're quite competitive, there can only be one winner. Ine competed in the NCAA in Triple Jump (12.49m) and later on excelled in the 100m hurdles (13"79) finishing 4th at the Belgian national championships in 2022. Ine also had a brief adventure in 2024 when she joined the Belgian national bobsleigh team, which she left after the season because of a back injury and career opportunities. Michiel has to admit he is a less decorated athlete. With 3'53" for 1500m and 8'24" for 3000m, he scored well below Ine on the World Athletics Scoring Tables.

Why did we start STRIDE Athlete Management?

We founded this agency because people - our friends, athletes, colleagues - told us to.  'You're pretty good at planning stuff' and a personal request from one our closest friends in the sport, is what pulled the trigger. Above and beyond that, we just love track and we appreciate dedicated athletes. We feel that they don't always get the opportunity they deserve and want to help them change that. Whether it's not getting into races or missing (financial) support for partners; we want to change that. We also believe partnerships within track and field can be better. There's very little to gain for brands and companies in our sport. We founded STRIDE because we want to change that in our own, personal way. Inside or outside the box, whatever suits our athletes and partners the best.​​