Cyréna Samba-Mayela equaled her French record in the 100m hurdles in 12 sec 52 (wind of -0.9 m/s) with a prestigious victory during the “Prefontaine classic” meeting on Saturday in Eugene (Oregon, United States). ). Two months before the Paris Olympic Games, Samba-Mayela made her mark by dominating a world-class field: she beat the Puerto Rican Olympic champion and vice-world champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.54), the American Tonea Marshall (12.55) and Bahamian Devynne Charlton, world champion and world record holder in the 60m indoor hurdles since this winter.
It’s good to get used to winning
A successful performance despite a cool temperature (around 14 degrees) and a slightly unfavorable wind, in a race which was not part of the Diamond League program. “The Olympic Games remain the objective, in this kind of race against these girls it’s good to get used to winning, to repeat what I learn in training, the same movements, to arrive at the Games being ready to take it a step further, and be ready to break records“, she commented, all smiles, in the mixed zone.
An exile in Florida that bears fruit
“Confidence is good, not great yet, I don’t think I’m at peak form yet. But I feel great, I had really good feelings today“, she added before heading to Rome for the European Championships (June 7-12). The 23-year-old Frenchwoman, world champion in the 60m indoor hurdles in 2022, continues her season crazy, she who has already broken the French record twice (12.55 in China at the end of April then 12.52 in Florida at the beginning of May. Her progress and consistency at the highest level have been impressive since she joined Irish coach John Coghlan at the end of 2023). in Florida, which also takes care of Camacho-Quinn, coming from Insep and Teddy Tamgho’s group.
“Experiencing a new environment is refreshing, it also means discovering myself differently. In this environment I am among the elite, I train with the reigning Olympic champion, it gets me used to excellence, to their way of doing things. Everything has been changed technically, even mentally I feel much fresher, I don’t know how to explain it, I’m growing with my environment, that’s how I express myself on the track, I’m happy to be there.”
