That is Stuart Weir’s characteristic on Swiss star Ditaji Kambundji, the sister of Mujinga Kambundji. Ditaji has her first senior title, the Ladies’s 60-meter hurdles, in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.
Ditaji Kambundji’s second of glory
Ditaji Kambundji had been knocking on the door for the previous few years. On Friday evening in Apeldoorn, she kicked it open.
The 22-year-old Swiss hurdler delivered the race of her life on the European Indoor Championships, successful the 60m hurdles in a shocking 7.67 seconds. The time wasn’t simply quick—it was historic. She broke the European indoor document set by Sweden’s Susanna Kallur in 2008 and moved to joint second on the all-time checklist. Solely Devynne Charlton’s world document of seven.65 sits forward of her.
For Kambundji, this wasn’t only a win. It was validation.
She had spent the final two years chasing the game’s greatest prizes, all the time inside attain however by no means fairly there. She took Bronze on the earlier European Indoors. Final summer season, she gained silver within the 100m hurdles on the outside European Championships in Rome. Every time, she acquired nearer. Every time, she left realizing there was extra to offer.
This time, she took all of it.
Kambundji’s rise by the ranks has been regular, if not spectacular. As a junior, she was one of the crucial promising hurdlers on this planet. She got here by the ranks alongside Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent, each teenage stars with massive futures. However whereas Nugent thrived within the NCAA, making an Olympic remaining, Kambundji’s development was slower.
Nonetheless, she stored working. And she or he confirmed simply how far she had come final 12 months in Rome. Her 12.40-second run within the 100m hurdles remaining was one of the best of her life. It earned her a Silver medal but in addition signaled one thing greater—her time was coming.
She entered this 12 months’s indoor season in high type. Final month in Torun, she ran a Swiss document of seven.80. In Apeldoorn, she seemed even higher. She gained her warmth in 7.92, then her semifinal in 7.82. However in the long run, she was untouchable.
Ladies’s dash hurdles are in a golden period. The competitors is as fierce because it has ever been. Charlton set the world indoor document simply weeks in the past. Nugent is coming off an NCAA title and an Olympic remaining. Tobi Amusan, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, and Keni Harrison have elevated the outside occasion.
Now, Kambundji is a part of that dialog. Her 7.67 doesn’t simply make her a European champion—it makes her a worldwide contender. The 100m hurdles at this 12 months’s World Championships will likely be brutal. However after what she did in Apeldoorn, nobody will overlook her.
Skrzyszowska, POL, bronze, Apeldoorn2025, photograph by Sona Maleterova
Till now, Kambundji had by no means gained a serious senior title. The expertise was there, however the podium all the time appeared simply out of attain. The race itself was a masterclass. She exploded out of the blocks from the gun, staying low and aggressive over the primary hurdle. By halfway, she had already separated herself from skilled Dutch hurdeler Nadine Visser. Her type was crisp, and her rhythm was flawless. She barely misplaced momentum as she powered by the ultimate strides, an indication of how well-drilled her method has turn out to be.
The victory locations her in uncommon firm. Breaking a European document is not any small feat, however to do it at 22 years outdated suggests there’s nonetheless extra to return. With each race, she is proving she will deal with the stress.
The ladies’s 100m hurdles are stacked like by no means earlier than. The World Champs in Tokyo will characteristic a deep, unpredictable subject. However along with her European document, Kambundji has introduced herself as a severe contender. The competitors will likely be fierce, however she has momentum on her aspect.
Apeldoorn was her breakthrough. Now, the problem is to construct on it. The outside season will convey new exams. The expectations will likely be increased. But when there’s one factor this race proved, it’s that Kambundji is prepared.
