Jonathan Borlée (French pronunciation:[ʒɔnatɑ̃bɔʁle]; born 22 February 1988) is a former Belgiansprinter, who specializes in the400 metres. He is a member of theBorlée family.
He qualified for the finals of the 400 metres at the2012 Summer Olympics. He was a semi-finalist at the2008 Summer Olympics and winner at the 2009NCAA Championships.
Borlée also takes part in the Belgian4 × 400 m relay team. The team won gold at the2012,2016 and2018 European Championships, and the2015 European Indoor Championships. The team finished 4th at the2008 Summer Olympics and at the2016 Summer Olympics and wonsilver at the2010 World Indoor Championships andbronze at the2010 European Championships.
.jpg)
The patriarch of the Borlee family isJacques, bronze medalist at the1983 European Indoor Championships inBudapest on200 m, while his first wifeEdith Demaertelaere 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).[2]
The eldest daughterOlivia won the gold medal at the Olympics and the world bronze at the2007 Osaka World Championships with the4 × 100 m relay and the other daughterAlizia was also a decent sprinter. The four sons are all400 m specialists, the twins Jonathan andKevin, both Olympic finalists inLondon 2012,Dylan and the youngestRayane. In addition, Jacques' older brotherJean-Pierre was also a sprinter.[3]
Borlée was born inWoluwe-Saint-Lambert. He has an identical twin brother,Kevin (b. 1988), younger brother,Dylan (b. 1992), and an older sister,Olivia (b. 1986), who are also sprinters. All four are trained by their fatherJacques Borlée (b. 1957).
Just like his twin brother, Jonathan Borlée obtained his first senior title at the age of 18: the Belgian Indoor championships in 2006 inGhent, where he won the200 m, while his brother won the 400 m. Later that year, Borlée would also become the outdoor champion on the 400 m.
On May 31, 2008, Kévin and Jonathan Borlée took part in the 4 × 400 m on a meeting inNeerpelt. Together withCédric Van Branteghem andKristof Beyens, they improved a 27-year-old national record by more than a second to 3:02.51s. However, this was 1 hundredth of a second above the qualification time for the Olympic Games. Two weeks later, withNils Duerinck instead of Kristof Beyens, they broke the national record again in a meeting inNamur to 3:02.13s.
On August 19, 2008, at the semi-finals of the2008 Summer Olympics, Jonathan Borlée ran a new personal best of 45.11s - yet this was not good enough to reach the final.
In the4 × 400 m relay, with teammates Kévin Borlée, Cédric Van Branteghem andArnaud Ghislain, they qualified for the final with a new national record of 3:00.67s. They originally finished 5th in the final with yet again a national record of 2:59.37s. The race was won by theAmerican team in 2:55.39s, a newOlympic record. The Russian team, who had finished 3rd, were later disqualified promoting Belgium to 4th place.
At the end of 2008, Jonathan Borlée moved together with his brother Kévin toTallahassee to enroll inFlorida State University.[4] During this period, Jonathan Borlée qualified for the NCAA Championships inFayetteville,Arkansas. Borlée won the 400 m in 44.78s, a new national record, while his brother Kévin finished 4th in 45.43s. Later on they had a big part in 4 × 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 thetarsus, which ruled him out for the rest of the season, including the2009 World Championships. Shortly after, brother Kévin suffered the same injury at the opposite foot.
At the end of 2009, Jonathan Borlée received theGolden Spike award.
At the beginning of 2010, the Borlée-twins were back in shape. At the2010 World Indoor Championships, the4 × 400 m relay team with teammates Nils Duerinck andAntoine 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.
Coming into theEuropean Championships inBarcelona, Jonathan Borlée had recorded a new national record of 44.77s at aDiamond League meeting inParis, just weeks before the championships. This was the fastest European time. Borlée 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 Kévin became the new European Champion in 45.08s after an impressive sprint in the last 50 metres.
The Belgian4 × 400 m relay team reached the final. Borlée was spared in the heats, but won bronze together with Kévin Borlée,Arnaud Destatte and Cédric Van Branteghem with a time of 3:02.60s.
The Belgian team won the 4 × 400 m at the European Championships.
At the Olympics, Borlée set his current personal best and improved upon his brother's national record for 400m in the first round of the Olympics. His 44.43 was clearly the best of the round for the entire field. He was not able to match that time in the semi-final but qualified for the final where he finished 6th, .02 behind his brother in 5th. Had he been able to run 44.43 in the final, it would have been good enough for the silver medal.
The Belgian 4 x 400 team that Borlée was in set a new area record in winning the gold medal of the European Indoor Championship. The team also finished 5th at the World Championship.
Borlée qualified for both the 400 m and the 4 × 400 m at the 2016 Olympics, reaching the semifinals in the individual events. The 4 × 400 m team finished in 4th place, setting a new national record. The 4 × 400 m team had previously won the European Championships.
At the400 m of theEuropean Championships inBerlin, Jonathan Borlée reached the final with a win in heat 2 in 45.19s and a 2nd place finish in the 1st semi-final in a personal season's best of 44.87s. In the final, Borlée came in third after Britain'sMatthew Hudson-Smith and his twin brotherKevin in 45.19s.
TheBelgian 4 x 400 metres relay team, which includedJulien Watrin,Robin Vanderbemden,2018 junior world championJonathan Sacoor and younger brotherDylan, reached the final with a win in heat 2 in 3:02.44s, the 4th fastest qualifying time. In the finalJulien Watrin andRobin Vanderbemden were replaced by the twin brothers Jonathan andKevin. The Belgian team won gold in 2:59.47s.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Belgium | |||||
| 2006 | World Junior Championships | Beijing,China | 4th | 400 m | 46.06 |
| 5th | 4 × 400 m | 3:07.03 | |||
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing,China | SF | 400 m | 45.11 s |
| 4th | 4 × 400 m | 2:59.37 s | |||
| 2009 | NCAA Championships | Fayetteville, Arkansas,US | 1st | 400 m | 44.78 s (NR) |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m | 2:59.59 s | |||
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha,Qatar | 2nd | 4 × 400 m | 3:06.94 s |
| European Championships | Barcelona,Spain | 7th | 400 m | 45.35 s (44.71 s (NR) in SF) | |
| 3rd | 4 × 400 m | 3:02.60 s | |||
| 2011 | European Indoor Championships | Paris,France | 3rd | 4 × 400 m | 3:06.57 s (NR) |
| 2012 | European Championships | Helsinki,Finland | 4th | 200m | 20.99 s |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:01.09 s | |||
| Olympic Games | London,Great Britain | 6th | 400 m | 44.83 s[5] | |
| 6th | 4 × 400 m | 3:01.83 s[6] | |||
| 2015 | European Indoor Championships | Prague, Czech Republic | 1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:02.87 (AR) |
| IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 3rd | 4 × 400 m | 2:59.33 (NR) | |
| World Championships | Beijing, China | 14th (sf) | 400 m | 44.85 s | |
| 5th | 4 × 400 m | 3:00.24 | |||
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 18th (h) | 400 m | 47.45 s |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:01.10 | |||
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro,Brazil | 32nd (h) | 400 m | 46.01 | |
| 4th | 4 × 400 m | 2:58.52 (NR) | |||
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 16th (sf) | 400 m | 45.23 |
| 4th | 4 × 400 m | 3:00.04 | |||
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham,United Kingdom | 3rd | 4 × 400 m | 3:02.51 (NR) |
| European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 3rd | 400 m | 45.19 | |
| 1st | 4 x 400 m | 2:59.47 | |||
| 2019 | European Indoor Championships | Glasgow,United Kingdom | 1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:06.27 |
| IAAF World Relays | Yokohama, Japan | 3rd | 4 × 400 m | 3:02.70 | |
| 2021 | European Indoor Championships | Toruń, Poland | 4th | 4 × 400 m | 3:06.96 |
| Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 8th (h) | 4 × 400 m | 2:59.37 | |
| 2022 | European Championships | Munich, Germany | 4th (h) | 4 × 400 m | 3:01.80 |
| Discipline | Result | Year | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor | |||
| 200 metres | 20.31 s | 2012 | Lubbock,TX,United States |
| 300 metres | 31.87 s (NR) | 2012 | Liège,Belgium |
| 400 metres | 44.43 s (NR)[7] | 2012 | London,Great Britain |
| 4 × 400 metres relay | 2:58.52 (NR) | 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Indoor | |||
| 4 × 400 metres relay | 3:02.51 s (NR) | 2018 | Birmingham,United Kingdom |
Rayane, leur petit frère de 19 ans. Il n'a pas la même mère que les trois ainés.
.jpg)
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)
Media related toJonathan Borlée at Wikimedia Commons
European Athletics Championships champions in men's4 × 400 metres relay | |
|---|---|
|
|
