Jonathan Borlée

Jonathan Borlée

Personal information
Nationality	Belgium
Born	(1988-02-22) 22 February 1988 Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
Sport	Running
Event	400 metres
College team	Florida State University
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	200m: 20.42 s +0.7 m/s(Rabat 2011) 400m: 44.71 s (Barcelona 2010)
Medal record Men’s athletics Representing Belgium World Indoor Championships 2010 Doha 4x400 m relay European Championships 2010 Barcelona 4x400 m relay European Indoor Championships 2011 Paris 4×400 m relay

Jonathan Borlée (born 22 February 1988, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert) is a Belgian sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. He was a semi-finalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and winner at the 2009 NCAA Championships. He is currently the fastest European 400 m runner.

Jonathan also takes part in the Belgian 4 x 400 m relay team. The team finished 5th at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won silver at the 2010 World Indoor Championships and bronze at the 2010 European Championships.

Biography

Early successes

He has a twin brother, Kevin, and a sister, Olivia, who are both sprinters. All three are trained by their father Jacques.

Just like his brother, Jonathan obtained his first senior title at the age of 18: the Belgian Indoor championships in 2006 in Ghent, where he won the 200 m, while his brother won the 400 m. Later that year, Jonathan would also become the outdoor champion on the 400 m.

On May 31, 2008 Kevin and Jonathan took part in the 4 x 400 m on a meeting in Neerpelt. Together with Cédric Van Branteghem and Kristof Beyens, they improved a 27 year old national record by more than a second to 3:02.51s. However, this was 1 hundred of a second above the qualification time for the Olympic Games. Two weeks later, with Nils Duerinck instead of Kristof Beyens, they broke the national record again in a meeting in Namur to 3:02.13s.

National record at Summer Olympics in Beijing

On August 19, 2008, during the semi-finals of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Jonathan Borlée ran a new personal best of 45.11s. Despite he did not reach the final.

On the 4 x 400 m relay, with teammates Kevin Borlée, Cédric Van Branteghem and Arnaud Ghislain, they qualified for the final with a new national record of 3:00.67s. They finished 5th in the final with yet again a national record of 2:59.37s. The race was won by the American team in 2:55.39s, a new Olympic record.

Move the United States

At the end of 2008, Jonathan Borlée moved together with his brother Kevin to Tallahassee to enroll in Florida State University. During this period, Jonathan qualified for the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jonathan won the 400 m in 44.78s, a new national record, while his brother Kevin finished 4th in 45.43s. Later on they had a big part in 4 x 400 m relay victory of Florida State with time of 2:59.59s, the second best season time.

Shortly thereafter, Jonathan injured himself: a stress fracture on the tarsus, which ruled him out for the rest of the season, including the 2009 World Championships. Shortly after, brother Kevin suffered the same injury at the opposite foot.

At the end of 2009, Jonathan reveived the Golden Spike award.

Silver at World Indoor Championships

At the beginning of 2010, the Borlée-twins were back in shape. At the 2010 World Indoor Championships, the 4 x 400 m relay team with team mates Nils Duerinck and Antoine Gillet, they won their heat in 3:09.84s, a national indoor record. In the final, with Cédric Van Branteghem instead of Nils Duerinck, they won silver with a time 3:06.94s, another national record. It was the first time a Belgian relay team had ever delivered such a performance.

European Championships 2010

Coming into the European Championships in Barcelona, Jonathan Borlée had recorded a new national record of 44.77s at a Diamond League meeting in Paris, just weeks before the championships. This was the fastest European time. Jonathan reached the final with two wins in the heats and the semi-finals in 45.91s and 44.71s respectively, the latter being a new national record again. In the final however, Jonathan could not fulfill the expectations and finished 7th in 45.35s. His brother Kevin became the new European Champion in 45.08s after an impressive sprint in the last 50 metres.

The Belgian 4 x 400 m relay team reached the final. Jonathan was spared in the heats, but won bronze together with Kevin Borlée, Arnaud Destatte and Cédric Van Branteghem with a time of 3:02.60s.

Achievements

Major Tournaments

Year	Tournament	Venue	Discipline	Result	Extra
2008	Summer Olympics	Beijing, China	400 m	SF	45.11 s
			4 x 400 m	5th	2:59.37 s (NR)
2009	NCAA Championships	Fayetteville, Arkansas, US	400 m	1st	44.78 s (NR)
			4 x 400 m	1st	2:59.59 s
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	4 x 400 m	2nd	3:06.94 s
	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	400 m	7th	45.35 s (44.71 s (NR) in SF)
			4 x 400 m	3rd	3:02.60 s
2011	European Indoor Championships	Paris, France	4x400m	3rd	3:06.57 s (NR)

Personal bests

Discipline	Result	Year	Location
Outdoor
200 metres	20.42 s 0.7 m/s	2010	Rabat, Morocco
300 metres	32.10 s (NR)	2011	Leuven, Belgium
400 metres	44.71 s (NR)	2010	Barcelona, Spain
4 x 400 metres relay	2:59.37 s (NR)	2008	Beijing, China
Indoor
4 x 400 metres relay	3:06.57 s (NR)	2011	Paris, France

External links

• Jonathan Borlée at World Athletics
• Borlée's website