Cyréna Samba-Mayela

Cyréna Samba-Mayela
Samba-Mayela in 2022
Personal information
BornCyréna Samba-Mayela
(2000-10-31) 31 October 2000
Champigny-sur-Marne, France
Sport
CountryFrance
SportAthletics
Events
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 place2024 Paris100 m hurdles
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Belgrade60 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place2024 Glasgow60 m hurdles
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2024 Rome100 m hurdles
European U23 Championships
Silver medal – second place2021 Tallinn100 m hurdles
World U18 Championships
Silver medal – second place2017 Nairobi100 m hurdles
European U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 TbilisiMedley relay

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 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

Representing  France
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTime
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.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Cyréna SAMBA-MAYELA | Profile". worldathletics.org.
  2. 1 2 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. ↑ "Women's 100m Hurdles Results - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  17. ↑ "Entire Olympic 100m hurdles podium signs for Grand Slam Track". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  18. ↑ "France's sole Paris Olympics athletics medallist Samba-Mayela to miss worlds". France24.com. 25 August 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "In 2026, Olympic silver medalist Cyréna Samba-Mayela will be competing in a setting designed to help her forget a difficult 2025". Lequipe. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Strong season openers in Gainesville, Thomas wins sprint double in Addis Ababa". World Athletics. 19 April 2026. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  21. ↑ "Thomas scorches to 21.70 at Lone Star Grand Prix". World Athletics. 6 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Championnats d'Europe en salle : les athlètes ultramarins et afro-français de la sélection française".
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