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Borlée twins aim for 400m double in Zurich

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Belgian twins Kevin and Jonathan Borlée are openly ambitious about their objectives for the European Athletics Championships in Zurich this summer.

Since the beginning of winter training, they have insisted that they intend to take the top two spots on the podium in Switzerland on Friday 15 August, the date of the 400m final.

And the figures speak in their favour having topped the European rankings for the past three years.

“The two first places are what we are aiming for but this does not mean it’s going to happen,” Kevin told dhnet.be.

The duo will be up against a strong opponent in the Czech Republic’s Pavel Maslak, the recent world indoor champion and reigning European champion over the distance.

“Maslak ran very well in Sopot and he could well beat us this summer. We don’t mind losing to someone better than us, as long as we were at our best,” Jonathan added.

Both brothers were present at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow where Kevin got off to a poor start in the semi-finals and was forced to play catch-up throughout the race which led him to slow down in the last 50m costing him a spot as finalist.

On the other hand, Jonathan increased his speed as the rounds went on and ended up with his strongest result at world championships with fourth place in 44.54, the second fastest time of his career and only 0.02 away from bronze.

“The fact that I was able to deliver when it mattered most was a relief and I think I can build on this success for the rest of my career,” he said.

Now, preparations for the upcoming season have gone well, both being coached by their father Jacques Borlée.

“Training has gone well and with higher intensity compared to past years, but we decided to balance it with more periods of rest. Although it’s starting to feel long and we need to start focusing more on the events that are soon approaching,” Kevin revealed.

The second big target for the Borlée twins is to retain Belgium’s 4x400m title from Helsinki 2012, and they will obviously have a big role to play.

“We hope the relay team will be as strong as two years ago, with our brother Dylan Borlée, Antoine Gillet and Julien Watrin who did well at the European under 23s last year. If we can have two more runners below 45.00, it could be the fastest relay Belgium has ever had.”



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