In Iceland with belgian athletes
Posted on the 17.10.2011 by Alain Hubert
This week, I am leaving for Iceland with nine belgian 4x400m athletes -included the famous Borlée brothers. The target of the operation : to help the athletes to form a strong team capable to be on the podium of the 4x400 m in the London Olympics.
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To be perfectly honest with you : even if I have done previously so many difficult expeditions in the most extreme environments, I remain quite impressed with all these strong people capable to run as fast as the wind. But when the belgian sport authorithies have asked me to conduct an expedition with these young people in order to motivate them as a strong group, I took this proposition as a quite serious challenge.
Of course, at the beginning of this adventure, I was a bit worried to see these young guys progressing on the icecap faster than myself. But, I was very quickly insured by the trainer Jacques Borlée (who just received from the European Athetism Association the 'European Athletics Coaching Award') and the rest of the team (other trainers, team manager, psychologue) ; the main objective of the project for the 4x400 in London can be summarized in few words : let's perform together. That means that we won't have to go fast on the ice but rather to behave as a united and strong team.
In the same time I am very honoured to have been choosen for the job. These challenges are the ones I particularly appreciate. I do not want to finish this small note without naming all these young people : Kévin Borlée, Jonathan Borlée, Antoine Gillet, Nils Duerinckx, Arnauid Gyslain, Will Oyowe, Joris Haeck, Arnaud Destatte and Steff Vanhaeren.
The press conference held on 17 October in IPF quarters
© IPF
