Jolien Boumkwo is not a sprinter or hurdler.
She’s a shot-put and hammer thrower for Belgium. But she was more than happy to run the 100 meter hurdles at the European Championships this weekend, even if it meant running them at a very slow pace.
Why? Firstly: Two hurdlers from the team were injured. Second: If no Belgian runner had done the event, the team would have been disqualified.
So Boumkwo stepped up, jogged up to each hurdle and stepped over them, finished and earned her team a pair of points, which is a huge deal!
This is just fantastic stuff
Every point *does* count at the European Team Championships!
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
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) June 24, 2023