Cyréna Samba-Mayela
French athlete (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cyréna Samba-Mayela (born 31 October 2000)[1] is a French athlete who competes in the 60 metres hurdles and 100 metres hurdles. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Samba-Mayela won the silver medal in the 100 m hurdles event having won 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. She also won the gold medal in the 60 m hurdles at the 2022 World Indoor Championships, and the silver medal at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships where she lowered the current French national record to 7.73 seconds.[2]
Samba-Mayela in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Cyréna Samba-Mayela 31 October 2000 Champigny-sur-Marne, France |
| Sport | |
| Country | France |
| Sport | Athletics |
Events | 60 m hurdles 100 m hurdles |
| Coached by | Teddy Tamgho (2019–) |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests |
|
Medal record | |
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.
Biography
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]
2020–2022: World Indoor Champion
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]
2023-present: Olympic silver medalist, European Champion
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, running a national record 7.73 seconds in the semi-final and 7.74 seconds in the final.[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] In June, she won the 100 m hurdles at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, breaking the championship record and setting a personal best time of 12.31 seconds.[15] She won the silver medal in the 100 m hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics in August, running 12.34 seconds in the final to finish runner-up to Masai Russell of the United States.[16]
In September 2024, it was announced that she had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded Grand Slam Track.[17] However, her 2025 season was debilitated by injuries, and she missed the 2025 World Championships and the 2026 World Indoor Championships.[18][19] After returning to action, she placed second over 100 m hurdles at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix, the first World Athletics Continental Tour meeting to be held in Ethiopia, on 18 April 2026.[20] On 6 June, and ran 12.65 seconds for the 100 metres hurdles, her fastest time since September 2024, at the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station, Texas.[21]
Achievements
International competitions
| 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
- French Athletics Championships
- French Indoor Athletics Championships
- 60 m hurdles: 2020
Personal life
Samba-Mayela was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, in the Île-de-France region. She is of Congolese descent.[22]
