At the Tokyo 25 World Athletics Championships, Ditaji Kambundji took first place in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. The Swiss athlete broke her personal best as she completed the unexpected victory.
Kambundji has also had an impact at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Japan. His sister Mujinga is a global medallist in outdoor competition and a double world champion in indoor competition.
She won the race of her life in a time of 12.24, which was significantly slower than the 12.40 Ditaji had run in Rome the previous year and Zurich this year but still just short of Yordanka Donkova’s 27-year-old European record.
The final still seemed to be up for grabs, even though the 23-year-old had not been predicted as one of the favorites.
Masai Russell, the former Olympic champion, finished second on the world all-time record with a mark of 12.17 this year, making her the fastest woman in the world despite falling at the previous World Championships.
With three Diamond League wins before Tokyo, Nigerian Tobi Amusan and Russell’s American partner Grace Stark were perhaps the most reliable sprint hurdlers this season.
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Stark finished off the podium, but Kambundji got a strong start and was never surpassed as she crossed the finish line ahead of Amusan in second. In the midst of tearful jubilation after the victory, she had an expression of complete incredulity.
Russe, meanwhile, finished in fourth place and was not awarded any awards.
After she had her gold, Kambundji said:
“It’s crazy. I knew I had it in me. You could see on my face how happy I was when I realised I won. I thought that I was able to do it but I was surprised because I knew all the competitors were able to win. This is something I have been working for and to run it in the way I wanted to is special. Getting a personal best is nice but all that mattered today was the title. It’s amazing to be world champion.”