Jonathan Sacoor made history in 2018 by becoming Belgium’s first U20 world champion ever. The 19 year old sprinter, coached by Jacques Borlée however showed in 2017 that he is one of the biggest talents. He improved his 400m PB with over a second to 46”21, which made him of the main contenders at the European U20 championships in Grosseto, Italy. He would win a bronze medal as the youngest man in the final.
About one year later he would pull off the craziest U20 performance ever by a Belgian athlete. He blew away the Jamaicans and all his other opponents at the world junior championships in Tampere, Finland. His 45”03 was just shy of the European record, yet a big improvement of his own Belgian Record (45”72), which he set in the semi-finals of the championship. His amazing summer did not come to an end as he still would be competing with the Belgian Tornados at the European championships in Berlin. Together with the three Borlée-brothers, with whom he won the bronze at the world indoor championships earlier that year in Birmingham, Sacoor would fly towards a second consecutive gold medal for the team.
After Berlin there was one more thing on Sacoor’s to-race list: the AG Memorial Van Damme. That was not easy, as his coach preferred him to rest, because of a minor foot injury. Sacoor got what he wanted and once again showed what a talent he is. He won the race in 45”59, his second best time ever. “It took some time to convince Jacques, but I was so happy at that moment. The energy created by the home crowd was surreal. I never experienced something like that before. I would do it all over again, despite getting injured afterwards”, tells the world junior champion..
This winter Sacoor left Belgium to train and study at the University of Tennesse. Ken Harden, who coached Kevin en Jonathan Borlée when they were in the USA, is his mentor in Tennessee, with the help of father Borlée of course. Last week Sacoor ran the standard for the European U23 championships, yet that is not a big goal in 2019, as the World Relays in Japan are coming up soon and the world championships in Doha only start at the end of September. “The difference in between Tennessee and Belgium is immense. Not just when it comes to tracks and gyms, but also with the atmosphere at races. The whole university is just one big team supporting all the athletes. I could not imagine such a thing in Belgium. I totally enjoy my time here. I hope to come close to my PB in June at the NCAA-championships. Afterwards the focus is totally on the Belgian Tornados. The European U23 championships with a team of young Tornados would be great, because we are able to medal”, adds Sacoor.
On 6 September there is a Belgian spot in the 400m Diamond League final. A spot that could belong to Sacoor. “To my account the best Belgian runner should get his chance over there, unless someone still needs to run a standard for Doha. I totally want to be out there again together with all the Belgian fans”, concludes the sprinter.
30 April, 2019
