Julien Watrin

Julien Watrin (born 27 June 1992)^[1] is a Belgian sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. In 2023, he won his first individual major senior medal, with silver at the European Indoor Championships. Watrin earned several major medals with national men's 4 × 400 m relays, including bronzes at the 2019 and 2022 World Athletics Championships.

Julien Watrin

Watrin at the 2023 European Indoor Championships in Istanbul
Personal information
Born	(1992-06-27) 27 June 1992 (age 32) Virton, Belgium
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Sport
Country	Belgium
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	400 metres, 400 m hurdles
Club	AC Dampicourt
Coached by	Edith Graff
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Belgium World Championships 2019 Doha 4×400 m relay 2022 Eugene 4×400 m relay World Indoor Championships 2022 Belgrade 4×400 m relay World Relays 2015 Nassau 4×400 m relay 2019 Yokohama 4×400 m relay European Championships 2016 Amsterdam 4×400 m relay 2018 Berlin 4×400 m relay 2022 Munich 4×400 m relay European Indoor Championships 2015 Prague 4×400 m relay 2019 Glasgow 4×400 m relay 2023 Istanbul 4×400 m relay 2017 Belgrade 4×400 m relay 2023 Istanbul 400 m 2025 Apeldoorn 4×400 m mixed 2025 Apeldoorn 4×400 m relay

He is the Belgian record holder for the 400 m hurdles, Belgian indoor record holder for the 400 m, and won several national titles.

He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in September 2023 which prevented him from participating in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.^[2] After successful treatment, he made his return on the international stage at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, winning a silver medal as a member of Belgium's 4×400 m mixed relay team^[3][4] and a bronze medal as a member of Belgium's men 4×400 m relay team.^[5]

Statistics

Watrin reached the semi-finals in the 400 m hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

Julien Watrin narrowly lost to Karsten Warholm in winning his first individual major senior medal in the 400 m final at the 2023 European Indoor Championships in Istanbul.

International competitions

Representing  Belgium

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time
2009	European Youth Olympic Festival	Tampere, Finland	2nd	100 m	10.82
			1st	200 m	21.06
			3rd	4 × 100 m relay	41.69
2010	World Junior Championships	Moncton, Canada	7th	100 m	10.56
			9th (sf)	200 m	21.12 w
			13th (h)	4 × 100 m relay	40.43
2011	European Junior Championships	Tallinn, Estonia	–	200 m	DNF
2013	European U23 Championships	Tampere, Finland	1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:04.90
	Jeux de la Francophonie	Nice, France	4th	200 m	21.56
			3rd	4 × 100 m relay	39.58
2014	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	1st (B)	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.97
	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	23rd (h)	400 m	46.31
			7th	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.60
2015	European Indoor Championships	Prague, Czech Republic	1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.87 WL AR
	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	2:59.33
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	10th (sf)	400 m	45.76
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:01.10
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	4th	4 × 400 m relay	2:58.52
2017	European Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	2nd	4 × 400 m relay	3:07.80
	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	2nd (B)	4 × 400 m relay	3:07.14
2018	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	4th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.55
2019	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:06.27
	World Relays	Yokohama, Japan	8th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:03.70
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	3rd (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:00.87
2022	World Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	6th (sf)	400 m	46.54
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:06.52
	World Championships	Eugene, OR, United States	14th (sf)	400 m hurdles	49.52
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	2:58.72
	European Championships	Munich, Germany	6th	400 m hurdles	48.98
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	2:59.49
2023	European Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	2nd	400 m	45.44
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:05.83
	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	17th (sf)	400 m hurdles	48.94
			9th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:00.33
2025	European Indoor Championships	Apeldoorn, The Netherlands	2nd	Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay	3:16.19
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:05.18 SB

Personal bests

• 100 metres – 10.39 (+1.5 m/s, Mannheim 2010) NU20R
• 200 metres – 20.80 (−0.4 m/s, Brussels 2013)
  • 200 metres indoor – 20.90 (Ghent 2023)
• 400 metres – 45.56 (La Chaux-de-Fonds 2021)
  • 400 metres indoor – 45.44 (Istanbul 2023) NR
• 400 m hurdles – 48.66 (Brussels 2022) NR

National titles

• Belgian Athletics Championships
  • 100 metres: 2012, 2013
  • 200 metres: 2020
  • 400 metres: 2016
  • 400 m hurdles: 2019
• Belgian Indoor Athletics Championships
  • 400 metres: 2022

See also

• Belgian men's 4 × 400 metres relay team