WK indoor
The US was in the lead until the last 50 meters, but with ultimate acceleration, new world champion Alexander Doom led the Belgian Tornados to the world title in the 4 x 400 meters. After the delay in Budapest, a boost towards Paris.
Milan Augustijns, Diebrecht De Smet
Yesterday at 9:23 PM
It was a tiny difference, barely six hundredths of a second, but for the second time in 24 hours, Alexander Doom (26) was allowed to shout his joy on Sunday evening in the Scottish Emirates Arena. After his individual world title, he also won gold in Glasgow with the Belgian Tornados, the defending champions in the 4 x 400 meters.
In the absence of captain Kevin Borlée, who is struggling with the after-effects of a foot injury and had to reconcile with a coaching role on the sidelines, the West Flemish man led the male relay team to the new triumph with an unparalleled final lap (44”88). Doom, who formed a team with Jonathan Sacoor, Dylan Borlée and Christian Iguacel, started his race in second and worked his way past the American Christopher Bailey with an ultimate jump.
Eighteenth medal
The Tornados finished in 3’02”54, barely three hundredths above the Belgian record. “Back-to-back!” said Dylan Borlée in an initial response, referring to the 2022 title. Earlier this week, Doom had indicated that the team had not focused on this championship, but even without captain Borlée, the Tornados washed away the sour memory of the World Cup in Budapest last summer. There they missed out on a final place for the first time in fifteen years.
The era of the Belgian Tornados seemed to be over at the time, but six months later they are back in business again. “We had become very dependent on my brothers, it is only good news that we can now do it without them,” said Dylan Borlée. “I think Kevin and Jonathan are very proud of the fact that the project they have supported for so many years is being continued in this way.”
And so the success of the 4×400 meter team, which was in an Olympic final in Beijing sixteen years ago, continues. In Glasgow, the Tornados raced to their eighteenth medal at a major tournament, their eighth gold medal. “Sometimes it really surprises me that we continue to have so much success,” Dylan Borlée admitted. “Our asset is that we believe in each other so much. Our individual chronos this season are not particularly impressive, except for Alexander’s. But we make each other better.”
Bronze for Crestan
The Belgian Cheetahs also did not disappoint in their final. Cynthia Bolingo and co. finished fourth and further improved their Belgian record set in the heats (3’28”05). A little later, Eliott Crestan (25) finished the Belgian top weekend in style. In the 800 meters he seemed to be on his way to gold, but in the end he had to settle for bronze (in 1’45”32). Our country ended the Indoor World Championships with four medals in its suitcase.
