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Belgian Tornados take the bronze: "We can go faster!"

Belgium's 4x400 metres relay team claimed the bronze at the World Relays, the unofficial World Championships for relay teams. Dubbed the 'Belgian Tornados', the four Belgians set a new Belgian record and were only beaten by the United States and the Bahamas, a promising effort with next year's Olympic Games coming up.
Michaël Torfs

The Borlée family is now represented by three brothers instead of two. Dylan Borlée started, followed by Julien Watrin. Next followed the top duo Jonathan Borlée and Kevin to finish the job.

The Belgians did better than in the heats and also managed a new Belgian record in 2 minutes and 59.33 seconds. The previous mark was set at the Olympic Games in Beijing (2:59.37).

The new milestone resulted in a bronze medal. The United States were also in full force (with David Verburg, Tony McQuay, Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt) and won, posting a time of 2:58.43. The Bahamas, running before a home crowd, took the silver.

The Belgian team is taking steps forward compared to last year, when they had to be content with the B-finale. The result is a confidence-booster with new Olympic Games coming up next year. "It's unbelievable we are beating countries like Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. They enjoy a strong reputation and have more potential talent. On the other hand, I think we can go even faster than this", said Kevin Borlée. "The atmosphere in the team is good and this shows in our results."

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