Belgian Shot Putter Runs 100m Hurdles to Save Team From Disqualification: Video

• Belgian shotputter, Jolien Boumkwo ran the 100m hurdles race in the European Championships in Poland to stop her team from getting disqualified
• She went viral after completing the race in 32.81 seconds
• Belgium's two hurdlers had pulled out due to injury

Belgian shot putter and hammer throw champion, Jolien Boumkwo grabbed the headlines over the weekend for stepping in to run the 100m hurdles to prevent her team from getting disqualified.

Boumkwo volunteered to run in place of two Belgian 100m hurdles runners who pulled out of the event following injuries in the European Championships in Poland.

In a video that went viral on social media, she looked confident before the start of the second heat despite being surrounded by 100m hurdlers. As the rest of the field took off, Boumkwo jumped over the hurdles meticulously to avoid any deductions. She did not knock down a single hurdle.

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She finished the race and clocked 32.81 seconds, 19 seconds after second-to-last finisher Maja Maunsbach of Sweden, per USA Today. Teresa Errandonea of Spain won the event with a time of 13.22 seconds, per CBS Sports.

Why Boumkwo ran 100m hurdles

If Belgium had failed to field any athletes in the event, the country would've been disqualified, but Boumkwo won two points in the Division 1 standings.

Belgium finished 14th in the event with 250 points, ahead of Turkey (245) and Norway (223), who finished 15th and 16 respectively.

“My team is the most important thing for me,” said 29-year-old Boumkwo. "I couldn’t let it happen to lose by one point. That’s why I considered taking part in 100m hurdles. There was no risk for me if I took it calmly,” she said, via Fox Sports.

She finished seventh in the shot put competition.

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Sports Brief earlier reported on British sprinter, Zharnel Hughes running the fastest 100m race in 2023.

Hughes clocked 9.83 seconds at World Athletics Tour in New York. He is now the fastest British sprinter in the distance.

He surpassed the previous British record time of 9.87 seconds set by Linford Christie at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart.