At 31, Dylan Borlée not only won the first Belgian 400m championship title of his career on Sunday in Brussels. The youngest of the three brothers also won the famous family’s 11th gold medal on the track after Jacque Borlée (1982), Jonathan Borlée (2006, 2011 and 2015) and Kevin Borlée, who won six times (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018).
Fun fact: Dylan and Kevin Borlée, respectively first and second in the race this weekend, had climbed together (their places were reversed), for the first time, on the podium of the 400m at the Belgian championships in… 2013! A performance that was then repeated in 2018 when they took places 2 and 3, in 2019, behind Jonathan Sacoor.
“I’m happy with my race”indicates Dylan Borlée, who had already won a national title in the 200m in 2022.I honestly went for it, I took my destiny in my hands and I’m happy to have my season best, even if I feel like there’s still more in the tank. I would have hoped for better than this 45.32 but the conditions were not incredible.”
guillementI was really nervous after Rome…
The winner says above all “iron” of him after having experienced complicated European championships.I had bad feelings in Italy, when I returned from injury, and I really died nervously after Romehe admits. When I got confirmation that I was going to race in Madrid on June 21, I got back into the flow and had a good race (45.37).”
Regularity
Author of six times between 45.71 and 45.32, Dylan Borlée is also pleased with the consistency displayed individually this year.
“I think I’ll have a good season. That’s what I’ve been looking for for years, to be consistent and I feel like it’s going to explode again.”, he says, while his ranking should allow him to qualify for the Olympics. “I came very close to the minimum (Editor’s note: 45.09, in 2023, in Madrid) but I didn’t do it. This weekend, there was still a lot of stress to confirm my place in the ranking (Editor’s note: 46th for 48 places available). I think it will work, I’m still crossing my fingers but it should work.”
If history records that there were two “Borlée sweeps” in 2015 (Jonathan crowned ahead of Kevin and Dylan) and in 2017 (Kevin crowned ahead of Jonathan and Dylan) in the 400m, the 2024 Belgian champion is pleased to have once again climbed onto the podium with his brother Kevin.
“This shows the resilience we have! We came 1st and 2nd, the Borlées are still there and it makes me happy to see my brother by my side. Kevin put his pain aside for this meeting. As he walked to the stadium he said to me ‘listen, do your race, I’m not sure I’ll run yet’, and he came second! It’s incredible.”
And Dylan Borlée confides his sincere admiration for Kevin and Jonathan.
guillementWe wonder if we should take them back to the Games but Kevin and Jo have a lot of experience and fighting spirit.
“We always question them, we wonder if we should take them back to the Games but they have a lot of experience and fighting spirit on their side. We know what they are capable of. Kevin is second under 46 seconds for his second race of the season: I admire that and frankly we all should be!” underlines the youngest of the siblings.
And added: “These last few weeks haven’t been easy: we need each other, I need them too, it’s always worked like that between us. And that’s also why we left for Montpellier, it was becoming very difficult nervously. We fight in training, there are difficulties, injuries, and yet we must continue to function together.”
Today, the trend is much more positive and Dylan Borlée would even see himself well “improve (my) record” in favor of a last pre-Olympic race, in Lucerne or elsewhere.But, in case of qualification, it is in Paris that I am ready to show my best cards”he concludes.
