Athletics. The only French medalist at Paris 2024, Cyréna Samba-Mayéla, has withdrawn from the World Championships.
Hampered by injuries this season and too physically weak, Olympic 100m hurdles runner-up Cyréna Samba-Mayela will not compete in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (September 13-21), the French hurdler announced on Instagram on Monday.
"I tried. I spent a large part of this year handicapped by two consecutive injuries. I pushed my limits (...) but despite all my efforts, it wasn't enough to prepare for the World Championships in the best conditions," wrote Cyréna Samba-Mayela.
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers.
By clicking on "I accept" , cookies and other trackers will be placed and you will be able to view the contents ( more information ).
By clicking on "I accept all cookies" , you authorize the deposit of cookies and other tracers for the storage of your data on our sites and applications for the purposes of personalization and advertising targeting.
You can withdraw your consent at any time by consulting our data protection policy . Manage my choices
The only French athletics medalist at the Paris Games , Cyréna Samba-Mayela had not run competitively since September 2024 before her return on Sunday at the discreet Scottish Championships in Grangemouth .
Selected subject to conditions, she did not necessarily have to run under the minimum speed set by the French Athletics Federation (12.60) but had until Sunday to demonstrate her "ability to perform at the highest level".
Facing regional level competitors, she certainly won her series with a disconcerting lead but the time at the finish, 13 sec 30, is her worst result since May 2022, all despite ideal weather conditions and a tailwind (+ 2.7 m/s).
Too little time, too few reference pointsIn the final, "CSM" failed to run with much pace and finished fourth in the race in 13 sec 37 (wind: -0.1 m/s).
"Too little time, too few benchmarks. There's a lot of frustration (...) I'm already looking further ahead, and it's time to build the next steps with patience and intelligence. See you next year," Samba-Mayela concluded on her social media.
Le Républicain Lorrain
