The French hurdler was crowned European champion for the first time in her career at the age of 23 on Saturday, with the added bonus of a great time which places her among the chances of medals in Paris.
Frenchwoman Cyréna Samba-Mayela was crowned European champion in the 100m hurdles on Saturday in Rome by signing the best world performance of the year and again shattering her own French record in 12 sec 31.
Less than fifty days before the Paris Olympic Games, Samba-Mayela is asserting herself as a contender for the Olympic podium over the distance. She brings the French team its second medal of the European competition, a few minutes after the silver obtained by Auriana Lazraq-Khlass in the heptathlon.
In a high-risk discipline, Samba-Mayela won with an impression of great fluidity: she beat the Swiss Ditaji Kambundji (12.40) and the Polish Pia Skrzyszowska (12.42).
A first medal before the Olympics
The French hurdler offers herself her first international medal in the 100m hurdles, having already been crowned world indoor champion in the 60m hurdles in 2022 and world silver medalist in the same distance in March.
Samba-Mayela, who made the choice at the start of the 2023 school year to fly to Orlando, Florida, to work with Irishman John Coghlan as coach and reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn as training partner, confirms that it has changed dimensions.
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In just one evening and two races on the blue track of the Olympic stadium in Rome, she took 21 hundredths off her French record. From 12 sec 52, she lowered it to 12 sec 43 in the semi-finals, then to 12 sec 31 in the final.
Samba-Mayela took the old French record in April, in 12 sec 55, and had already improved it since.
