The 2023 European Championships produced headlines soon after a Belgian shot putter bravely filled in for a teammate and took component in the 100M hurdles function on Saturday.
Jolien Maliga Boumkwo, a Belgian athlete who normally competes in shot place, stepped up for her region and participated in the party right after two of her teammates ended up unable to operate.
An injury to hurdles runners Anna Zagr and Hanne Claes still left Belgium devoid of an knowledgeable choice to run the hurdles, prompting Boumkwo, who had positioned seventh in the shot put function on Friday, to fill their location.
Every single issue *does* depend at the European Team Championships!
Seventh in the shot put, Jolien Boumkwo 🇧🇪 steps in for the 100m hurdles at the quite final minute in #Silesia2023! 👏 #EG2023
(@TeamBelgium, @The_EOC) pic.twitter.com/3rhERw9y5I
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) June 24, 2023
When she finished very last in the party, her participation netted Belgium two points, which could go a very long way towards retaining alive the country’s hopes of keeping away from relegation into the 2nd division.
“It’s not a joke,” the 29-yr-previous wrote on social media on Friday just after discovering she’d be the substitution runner for Saturday’s 100M hurdles.
Boumkwo did not knock around a solitary hurdle as she ran the 100 meter sprint, and although her time came in at 32.81 seconds, extra than 19 seconds slower than race-winner Teresa Errandonea of Spain (13.22s), it was plenty of to secure the priceless points for her nation.
