# Belgian men's 4 × 400 metres relay team

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 twice.

## 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 Edith Demaertelaere (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 Jean-Pierre (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

| Year | Competition | Venue | Rank | Time | Notes |
| Olympic Games ||||||
| 1920 | Olympic Games | Antwerp | 6th | 3:24.9 | |
| 1928 | Olympic Games | Amsterdam | Heat | DNF | |
| 1952 | Olympic Games | Helsinki | Heat | 3:15.8 | |
| 1960 | Olympic Games | Rome | Heat | 3:15.26 | |
| 1980 | Olympic Games | Moscow | Heat | DNF | |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing | 4th | 2:59.37 | NR |
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London | 5th | 3:01.83 | |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro | 4th | 2:58.52 |
| 2020 | Olympic Games | Tokyo | 4th | 2:57.88 | NR |
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris | 4th | 2:57.75 | NR |

### Others competitions
#### Outdoor

| Year | Competition | Venue | Rank | Team | Time | Notes |
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona | 3rd | Arnaud Destatte, Kevin Borlée, Cédric Van Branteghem, Jonathan Borlée, Antoine Gillet, Nils Duerinck | 3:02.60 | |
| 2012 | European Championships | Helsinki | 1st | Antoine Gillet, Jonathan Borlée, Jente Bouckaert, Kevin Borlée, Nils Duerinck | 3:01.09 | EL |
| 2015 | World Relays | Nassau | 3rd | Dylan Borlée, Julien Watrin, Jonathan Borlée, Kevin Borlée | 2:59.33 | NR |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam | 1st | Julien Watrin, Jonathan Borlée, Dylan Borlée, Kevin Borlée, Robin Vanderbemden | 3:01.10 | EL |
| 2018 | European Championships | Berlin | 1st | Jonathan Sacoor, Dylan Borlée, Kevin Borlée, Jonathan Borlée | 2:59.47 | EL |
| 2019 | World Relays | Yokohama | 3rd | Dylan Borlée, Robin Vanderbemden, Jonathan Borlée, Jonathan Sacoor, Julien Watrin | 3:02.70 | SB |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha | 3rd | Jonathan Sacoor, Robin Vanderbemden, Dylan Borlée, Kevin Borlée, Julien Watrin | 2:58.78 | SB |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene | 3rd | Dylan Borlée, Julien Watrin, Alexander Doom, Kevin Borlée, Jonathan Sacoor | 2:58.72 | SB |
| 2022 | European Championships | Munich | 2nd | Alexander Doom, Julien Watrin, Kevin Borlée, Dylan Borlée | 2:59.49 |
| 2024 | World Relays | Nassau | 3rd | Dylan Borlée, Robin Vanderbemden, Alexander Doom, Jonathan Sacoor | 3:01.16 | SB |
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome | 1st | Jonathan Sacoor, Robin Vanderbemden, Dylan Borlée, Alexander Doom, Florent Mabille, Christian Iguacel | 2:59.84 | EL |

#### Indoor

| Year | Competition | Venue | Rank | Team | Time | Notes |
| 2010 | World Championships | Qatar | 2nd | Cédric Van Branteghem, Kevin Borlée, Antoine Gillet, Jonathan Borlée, Nils Duerinck | 3:06.94 | NR |
| 2011 | European Championships | Paris | 3rd | Jonathan Borlée, Antoine Gillet, Nils Duerinck, Kevin Borlée | 3:06.57 | NR |
| 2015 | European Championships | Prague | 1st | Julien Watrin, Dylan Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Kevin Borlée | 3:02.87 | WL NR |
| 2017 | European Championships | Belgrade | 2nd | Robin Vanderbemden, Julien Watrin, Kevin Borlée, Dylan Borlée | 3:07.80 | |
| 2018 | World Championships | Birmingham | 3rd | Dylan Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Jonathan Sacoor, Kevin Borlée | 3:02.51 | NR |
| 2019 | European Championships | Glasgow | 1st | Julien Watrin, Dylan Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Kevin Borlée | 3:06.27 | |
| 2022 | World Championships | Belgrade | 1st | Julien Watrin, Alexander Doom, Jonathan Sacoor, Kevin Borlée, Dylan Borlée | 3:06.27 | SB |
| 2023 | European Championships | Istanbul | 1st | Dylan Borlée, Alexander Doom, Kevin Borlée, Julien Watrin | 3:05.83 | EL |
| 2024 | World Championships | Glasgow | 1st | Jonathan Sacoor, Christian Iguacel, Dylan Borlée, Alexander Doom, Tibo De Smet | 3:02.54 | WL |