The 2023 European Championships made headlines after a Belgian shot putter bravely filled in for a teammate and took part in the 100M hurdles event on Saturday.
Jolien Maliga Boumkwo, a Belgian athlete who usually competes in shot put, stepped up for her country and participated in the event after two of her teammates were unable to run.
An injury to hurdles runners Anna Zagr and Hanne Claes left Belgium without an experienced option to run the hurdles, prompting Boumkwo, who had placed seventh in the shot put event on Friday, to fill their place.
Every point *does* count at the European Team Championships!
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) June 24, 2023
Seventh in the shot put, Jolien Boumkwo 🇧🇪 steps in for the 100m hurdles at the very last minute in #Silesia2023! 👏 #EG2023
(@TeamBelgium, @The_EOC) pic.twitter.com/3rhERw9y5I
While she finished last in the event, her participation netted Belgium two points, which could go a long way towards keeping alive the country’s hopes of avoiding relegation into the second division.
“It’s not a joke,” the 29-year-old wrote on social media on Friday after discovering she’d be the replacement runner for Saturday’s 100M hurdles.
Boumkwo didn’t knock over a single hurdle as she ran the 100 meter sprint, and while her time came in at 32.81 seconds, more than 19 seconds slower than race-winner Teresa Errandonea of Spain (13.22s), it was enough to secure the invaluable points for her country.
