The Belgian men's 4 × 400 metres relay team, nicknamed the Belgian Tornados from July 2014 onwards, is the relay team of the Belgian national athletics team that has given the highest number of medals in international competitions, mainly thanks to the support of the Borlée family.
History The Belgian men's 4 × 400 meters relay team has won 17 medals at international athletics competitions, six at the World Championships (two gold) and eleven (seven gold) at the European Championships. Of these medals, eight were won in outdoor competitions (four gold) and nine in indoor competitions (five gold).
At the Olympic Games the team's best result was 4th place four times.
Borlée family
The progenitor of the Borlee family is Jacques (born 1957), bronze medalist at the 1983 European Indoor Championships in Budapest on 200 m, while his first wife (born 1964) was a good sprinter with a personal best of 23.89. Six of his seven children are athletes (the first five born from the first marriage with Edith, the last two born from a second marriage, but now only Rayane (born 1999) is an athlete).
The eldest daughter Olivia (born 1986) won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the world bronze at the 2007 Osaka World Championships with the 4 × 100 m relay and the other daughter Alizia (born 1991) was also a decent sprinter. The four sons are all 400 m specialists, the twins Jonathan and Kevin (born 1988), both Olympic finalists in London 2012, Dylan (born 1992) and the youngest Rayane. In addition, Jacques' older brother (born 1947) was also a sprinter.
In 2015 the Belgian men's 4 × 400 meters relay team won the Belgian National Sports Merit Award (Trophée national du Mérite sportif) award assigned to the components Dylan Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Kevin Borlée, Antoine Gillet et Julien Watrin.
Results Olympic Games
YearCompetitionVenueRankTimeNotesOlympic Games1920Olympic Games Antwerp6th3:24.91928Olympic Games AmsterdamHeatDNF1952Olympic Games HelsinkiHeat3:15.81960Olympic Games RomeHeat3:15.261980Olympic Games MoscowHeatDNF2008Olympic Games Beijing4th2:59.372012Olympic Games London5th3:01.832016Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro4th2:58.522020Olympic Games Tokyo4th2:57.882024Olympic Games Paris4th2:57.75
Others competitions Outdoor YearCompetitionVenueRankTeamTimeNotes2010European Championships Barcelona3rdArnaud Destatte, Kevin Borlée, Cédric Van Branteghem, Jonathan Borlée, Antoine Gillet, Nils Duerinck3:02.602012European Championships Helsinki1stAntoine Gillet, Jonathan Borlée, Jente Bouckaert, Kevin Borlée, Nils Duerinck3:01.092015World Relays Nassau3rdDylan Borlée, Julien Watrin, Jonathan Borlée, Kevin Borlée2:59.332016European Championships Amsterdam1stJulien Watrin, Jonathan Borlée, Dylan Borlée, Kevin Borlée, Robin Vanderbemden3:01.102018European Championships Berlin1stJonathan Sacoor, Dylan Borlée, Kevin Borlée, Jonathan Borlée2:59.472019World Relays Yokohama3rdDylan Borlée, Robin Vanderbemden, Jonathan Borlée, Jonathan Sacoor, Julien Watrin3:02.70World Championships Doha3rdJonathan Sacoor, Robin Vanderbemden, Dylan Borlée, Kevin Borlée, Julien Watrin2:58.782022World Championships Eugene3rdDylan Borlée, Julien Watrin, Alexander Doom, Kevin Borlée, Jonathan Sacoor2:58.72European Championships Munich2ndAlexander Doom, Julien Watrin, Kevin Borlée, Dylan Borlée2:59.492024World Relays Nassau3rdDylan Borlée, Robin Vanderbemden, Alexander Doom, Jonathan Sacoor3:01.16European Championships Rome1stJonathan Sacoor, Robin Vanderbemden, Dylan Borlée, Alexander Doom, Florent Mabille, Christian Iguacel2:59.842025World Relays Guangdong2ndJonathan Sacoor, Robin Vanderbemden, Daniel Segers, Alexander Doom2:58.19
Indoor YearCompetitionVenueRankTeamTimeNotes2010World Championships Qatar2ndCédric Van Branteghem, Kevin Borlée, Antoine Gillet, Jonathan Borlée, Nils Duerinck3:06.942011European Championships Paris3rdJonathan Borlée, Antoine Gillet, Nils Duerinck, Kevin Borlée3:06.572015European Championships Prague1stJulien Watrin, Dylan Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Kevin Borlée3:02.87 2017European Championships Belgrade2ndRobin Vanderbemden, Julien Watrin, Kevin Borlée, Dylan Borlée3:07.802018World Championships Birmingham3rdDylan Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Jonathan Sacoor, Kevin Borlée3:02.512019European Championships Glasgow1stJulien Watrin, Dylan Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Kevin Borlée3:06.272022World Championships Belgrade1stJulien Watrin, Alexander Doom, Jonathan Sacoor, Kevin Borlée, Dylan Borlée3:06.272023European Championships Istanbul1stDylan Borlée, Alexander Doom, Kevin Borlée, Julien Watrin3:05.832024World Championships Glasgow1stJonathan Sacoor, Christian Iguacel, Dylan Borlée, Alexander Doom, Tibo De Smet3:02.542025European Championships Apeldoorn3rdJulien Watrin, Christian Iguacel, Florent Mabille, Jonathan Sacoor3:05.182026World Championships Toruń2ndJonathan Sacoor, Christian Iguacel, Julien Watrin, Robin Vanderbemden3:03.29
See also Belgium at the World Athletics Relays Royal Belgian Athletics League Borlée family Italian national track relay team
Notes
References
External links Royal Belgian Athletics League