He represented Belgium at two global competitions in the next season: he was a semi-finalist at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships in the 200 m and a quarter-finalist in both short sprints at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics. He won a further regional gold medal at the European 1st League meeting. Wijmeersch set personal bests at all distances that year: 6.74 seconds for the 60 metres, 10.17 seconds for the 100 m, a Belgian indoor record of 20.66 seconds for the 200 m, 32.52 seconds for the 300 metres, and 47.57 seconds for the 400 metres. In 1998 he took a 100/200 m double at the Belgian Championships and in his sole international outing reached the semi-finals of the 200 m at the 1998 European Athletics Championships. He remained among the Belgian elite the following year but failed to make an impact internationally, being eliminated in the heats stage at both the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 1999 World Championships in Athletics.