Cyréna Samba-Mayela

Cyréna Samba-Mayela
Personal information
Birth name	Cyréna Samba-Mayela
Born	31 October 2000 (age 23); Champigny-sur-Marne, France
Sport
Country	France
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	60 m hurdles; 100 m hurdles
Coached by	Teddy Tamgho (2019–)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m hurdles: 12.73 (2020); 100 m: 11.73 (2017); Indoors; 60 m hurdles: 7.78i NR (2022); 60 m: 7.30i (2020);
Medal record
Women's Athletics
Representing France
World Indoor Championships
European U23 Championships
World U18 Championships
European U18 Championships

Cyréna Samba-Mayela (born 31 October 2000)^[1] is a French athlete who competes in the 60 metres hurdles and 100 metres hurdles. In 2022, she became at the former event World indoor champion in Belgrade, with the current French national record of 7.78 seconds.^[2]

Samba-Mayela holds European under-18 bests in the 60m and 100 metres hurdles (76.2 cm). She won silver medals for the 100m hurdles at the 2017 World under-18 Championships and 2021 European U23 Championships.

Career

Junior career

Samba-Mayela won the gold medal in the medley relay at the 2016 European Youth Athletics Championships, running the 100m leg in Tbilisi.^[3] The 2017 she was the World U18 Championship silver medallist in Nairobi in the 100m hurdles.^[4]

2020–present

She was crowned French senior champion in the 60m hurdles indoors in 2020 in Liévin.^[5] On 12 September 2020 she won the French outdoor championship at the Stadium Municipal, Albi, running the 100m 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 any woman in the world.^[6] Shortly prior to this, she had won victories over quality international line-ups in Chorzow and Marseille.^[7]

In Madrid on June 19, 2021, Samba-Mayela took victory in 12.80 seconds in the 100m hurdles to meet the Olympic minimum standard for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.^[8]^[9] Unfortunately an injury in the warm up pre-race prevented an Olympic debut.^[10]

In 2022, she won the gold medal for the 60m hurdles at the World Indoor Championships held in Belgrade, 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]

Achievements

International competitions

Representing France
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

National championships

French Athletics Championship titles
- 100 m hurdles: 2020, 2021
French Indoor Athletics Championship titles
- 60 m hurdles: 2020

Personal life

Born in France, Samba-Mayela is of Congolese descent.^[11]

References

^ "Cyréna SAMBA-MAYELA | Profile". worldathletics.org.
^ ^a ^b Dennehy, Cathal (28 March 2022). "From Olympic heartbreak to world indoor delight for Samba-Mayela". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
^ "ATHLE.FR | Championnats d'Europe cadets : Deux nouvelles médailles d'or pour les Bleuets !". www.athle.fr (in French).
^ "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.
^ "Cyrena Samba-Mayela, championne de France indoor sur 60m haies : " J'ai essayé de ne pas trop prendre de risques "". L'Équipe (in French).
^ "100 Metres Hurdles - women - senior - outdoor - 2020". www.worldathletics.org.
^ "Samba-Mayela and Belocian impress at French Championships, Jaeger breaks world U18 heptathlon best | REPORTS | World Athletics". worldathletics.org.
^ "Lavin set for Tokyo after Madrid run". BBC Sport. 19 June 2021.
^ "Cyrena Samba-Mayela (100m haies), Rouguy Diallo et Jean-Marc Pontvianne (triple saut) décrochent les minima olympiques à Madrid". L'Équipe (in French).
^ "Tokyo 2020 Men's 100m Results - Olympic athletics". Olympics.com.
^ "Championnats d'Europe en salle : les athlètes ultramarins et afro-français de la sélection française".

[1] "Cyréna SAMBA-MAYELA | Profile". worldathletics.org.

[WAfeature032022-2] 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] "Championnats d'Europe en salle : les athlètes ultramarins et afro-français de la sélection française".

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