Cyréna Samba-Mayela

Cyréna Samba-Mayela
Samba-Mayela in 2022
Personal information
Birth nameCyréna Samba-Mayela
Born (2000-10-31) 31 October 2000 (age 24)
Champigny-sur-Marne, France
Sport
CountryFrance
SportAthletics
Event(s)60 m hurdles
100 m hurdles
Coached byTeddy Tamgho (2019–)
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris 100 m hurdles
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Belgrade 60 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place 2024 Glasgow 60 m hurdles
European Championships
Gold medal – first place Rome 2024 100 m hurdles
European U23 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Tallinn 100 m hurdles
World U18 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Nairobi 100 m hurdles
European U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Tbilisi Medley relay

Cyréna Samba-Mayela (born 31 October 2000)[1] is a French athlete who competes in the 60 metres hurdles and 100 metres hurdles. She won the gold medal in the 60 m hurdles at the 2022 World Indoor Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships where she lowered the current French national record to 7.73 seconds,[2] and the gold medal at the 2024 European Athletics Championships, where she established a new personal best, national record and championship record at 12.31 seconds. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Samba-Mayela won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles event.

Samba-Mayela holds European under-18 bests in the 60 m and 100 m hurdles (76.2 cm). She won silver medals for the 100 m hurdles at the 2017 World U18 Championships and 2021 European U23 Championships.

Career

Junior career

Samba-Mayela won the gold medal in the medley relay at the 2016 European Youth Athletics Championships, running the 100 metres leg in Tbilisi.[3]

In 2017, she was the World U18 Championship 100 m hurdles silver medallist in Nairobi.[4]

2020–present

She was crowned French senior champion in the 60 m hurdles indoors in 2020 in Liévin.[5] On 12 September that year, she won the French outdoor championship at the Stadium Municipal, Albi, running the 100 m hurdles in a time of 12.73, the fastest ever time by a European teenager, and the eighth-fastest French woman ever. In 2020 it was the fourth-fastest time by a woman in the world.[6] Shortly prior to this, she had claimed victories over quality international line-ups in Chorzów and Marseille.[7]

In Madrid, on June 19, 2021, Samba-Mayela took victory in 12.80 seconds in the 100 m hurdles to meet the Olympic minimum standard for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[8][9] Unfortunately, an injury during the warm-up pre-race prevented her Olympic debut.[10]

In 2022, she won the gold medal for the 60 m hurdles at the World Indoor Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia, setting a French national record of 7.78 seconds. Devynne Charlton took silver in 7.81 s while the third-placed Gabbi Cunningham clocked 7.87 s.[2]

In August 2023, she competed at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest and qualified for the semi-finals.[11]

She was a silver medalist at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow in the 60 metres hurdles.[12]

In April 2024, she ran a personal best and national record time of 12.55 at the 2024 Xiamen Diamond League.[13] She ran 12.52 to win the 2024 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon on 25 May 2024.[14]

She won the 100m hurdles at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, breaking the championship record and setting a personal best time of 12.31 seconds.[15]

Achievements

International competitions

Representing  France
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time
2016 European U18 Championships Tbilisi, Georgia 1st Medley relay 2:08.48 PB
2017 World U18 Championships Nairobi, Kenya 2nd 100 m hurdles 12.80
2018 World U20 Championships Tampere, Finland 8th 100 m hurdles 14.11
2021 European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia 2nd 100 m hurdles 12.80
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 1st 60 m hurdles 7.78 NR
World Championships Eugene, United States 28th (h) 100 m hurdles 13.15
European Championships Munich, Germany 7th 100 m hurdles 13.05
2023 European Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 8th (sf) 60 m hurdles 8.00
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 17th (sf) 100 m hurdles 12.95
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 2nd 60 m hurdles 7.74
European Championships Rome, Italy 1st 100 m hurdles 12.31 CR
Olympic Games Paris, France 2nd 100 m hurdles 12.34

National titles

Personal life

Samba-Mayela was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, in the Île-de-France region. She is of Congolese descent.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Cyréna SAMBA-MAYELA | Profile". worldathletics.org.
  2. ^ a b Dennehy, Cathal (28 March 2022). "From Olympic heartbreak to world indoor delight for Samba-Mayela". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  3. ^ "ATHLE.FR | Championnats d'Europe cadets : Deux nouvelles médailles d'or pour les Bleuets !". www.athle.fr (in French).
  4. ^ "Mondiaux cadets : Orban en or, Samba-Mayela en argent, Mouillac en bronze". Track and Life (in French). 16 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Cyrena Samba-Mayela, championne de France indoor sur 60m haies : " J'ai essayé de ne pas trop prendre de risques "". L'Équipe (in French).
  6. ^ "100 Metres Hurdles - women - senior - outdoor - 2020". www.worldathletics.org.
  7. ^ "Samba-Mayela and Belocian impress at French Championships, Jaeger breaks world U18 heptathlon best | REPORTS | World Athletics". worldathletics.org.
  8. ^ "Lavin set for Tokyo after Madrid run". BBC Sport. 19 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Cyrena Samba-Mayela (100m haies), Rouguy Diallo et Jean-Marc Pontvianne (triple saut) décrochent les minima olympiques à Madrid". L'Équipe (in French).
  10. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Men's 100m Results - Olympic athletics". Olympics.com.
  11. ^ "Women's 100m Hurdles Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". World Athletics. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Women's 60m hurdles Results - World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  13. ^ Jacks, Bradley (20 April 2024). "Paulino opens season with 50.08 to win 400m in Xiamen; Charlton narrowly beaten by Camacho-Quinn in 100m hurdles". Sportsmax.tv. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  14. ^ Henderson, Jason (26 May 2024). "Josh Kerr defeats Ingebrigtsen in a British mile record in Eugene". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  15. ^ "World-leading championship records for Tentoglou and Samba-Mayela at European Championships in Rome". World Athletics. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Championnats d'Europe en salle : les athlètes ultramarins et afro-français de la sélection française".