Borlée had tipped his own twin brother, Jonathan, to be the family medal contender during the games: Jonathan had earlier set a new national record of 44.71 in the 400m semi-finals. But in the final, it was Kevin who took the honours, crossing the line in 45.08, while Jonathan came in seventh.

The 22-year-olds were accompanied by their sister Olivia, a 100m relay silver medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She finished sixth in her 200m semifinal in Barcelona.

Later, they joined forces with Flemish athletes Arnaud Destatte and Cedric Van Branteghem to come third in the men’s 400m relay, in 3.02.60, just behind the United Kingdom and Russia, who won the race in 3.02.14. Bolshakova, 25, who became a Belgian citizen in 2008, added an unexpected bronze in the triple jump, setting a new Belgian record with a jump of 14.55m.

Bolshakova, married to the Belgian high jump ace Stijn Stroobants, is based in Zaventem. Meanwhile, high jumper Tia Hellebaut failed to repeat her Beijing Olympic gold medal-winning form, coming in fifth.

However, the 32-year old insisted she was happy with her 1.97m jump, which comes six months after announcing her comeback after having a baby.

www.european-athletics.org