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The best year of her career: Mujinga Kambundji was almost unstoppable in 2022.
Emmanuel GisiHead of the sports report team
Blick: Mujinga Kambundji, how are you spending the holidays?
Kambundji: I never take Christmas vacation. I usually take the day off on December 25th so I don’t have to feel guilty.
And on New Year’s Eve?
I train on December 31st. New Year’s Eve isn’t that important to me, I’m quite spontaneous there and stick to where something’s going on. Not necessarily in a club or bar, I tend to party with friends at home. January 1st is free, on January 3rd we go to the training camp in Tenerife. The conditions there are simply good: nice weather, 25 degrees. Perfect for training.
So this is how your year begins.
I always say to my sister Ditaji (Hurder sprinter, ed.): «Our year begins in autumn.» When the last competition is over, it’s our New Year’s Eve. Everything you do after that is for the new season. I don’t make resolutions on January 1st, I make resolutions when the new season starts.
Let’s talk about the old year first. You have been voted Sportswoman of the Year for the second time. Does this title mean anything to you?
A lot even. I have never won so many titles in my career (laughs). It was a very special sporting year, other disciplines had Olympic Games…
Kambundji after re-election: “I would give the award to my friend”(01:02)
The skiers, for example…
… that’s why it’s something very special. Many women deserved to win. As a teenager, I often watched the Sports Awards, I never thought that I could win there. Because I can’t influence the choice in contrast to my competitions, it’s an even better appreciation.
You became indoor world champion, won gold and silver at the European Championships and set three Swiss records. 2022 was a big year for you.
I had the year of my life… (think) until now! The medals I’ve won, I’ve won at world level. For a long time I’ve set new personal bests over 60, 100 and 200 meters. Otherwise it was usually one discipline per year in which I made a leap.
Mujinga Kambundji (30)
Mujinga Kambundji is the fastest woman in Switzerland. And she has a year behind her for the history books: in June 2022, the Bern native reclaimed the national record over 100 m (10.89 seconds) from Ajla Del Ponte. In addition, she improved her own Swiss record over 200 m to 22.05 seconds. She ran over 60 m at her World Championship title in Belgrade in hall 6.96, also a Swiss record and the fourth fastest time in history, only four hundredths behind the world record. At the European Championships in Munich, she won gold (200 m) and silver (100 m). The second oldest of four sisters was in the 100 and 200 m Olympic finals in 2021, and she already has an outdoor World Championships medal: in 2019 there was bronze in Doha over 200 m. In December she became a Swiss athlete for the second time after 2019 year elected.
Mujinga Kambundji is the fastest woman in Switzerland. And she has a year behind her for the history books: in June 2022, the Bern native reclaimed the national record over 100 m (10.89 seconds) from Ajla Del Ponte. In addition, she improved her own Swiss record over 200 m to 22.05 seconds. She ran over 60 m at her World Championship title in Belgrade in hall 6.96, also a Swiss record and the fourth fastest time in history, only four hundredths behind the world record. At the European Championships in Munich, she won gold (200 m) and silver (100 m). The second oldest of four sisters was in the 100 and 200 m Olympic finals in 2021, and she already has an outdoor World Championships medal: in 2019 there was bronze in Doha over 200 m. In December she became a Swiss athlete for the second time after 2019 year elected.
Why did it work so well across the board in 2022?
I do more right and less wrong. We try to improve every year. You always try, but it doesn’t come immediately. In 2021 I didn’t have the feeling that I could fully exploit my potential. There was still a little bit missing.
“Pregnancy is no longer the end of a career”Mujinga Kambundji
What’s it like when you realize: Oops, now it’s off?
The super season indoors was good for me. She confirmed early on that my decisions were correct. On the other hand, it also creates pressure. I knew I was in extremely good shape. But just because you have it in you doesn’t mean that you can safely put it on the track.
How difficult is it to keep good form?
Harder than you think. Sprinting is more than running in a straight line. You can do a lot wrong. Experience helps and knowing your body.
The women’s sprint is one of the most spectacular disciplines in world athletics at the moment. What role do you see yourself in?
I don’t stand out with a spectacular hairstyle or tattoos or with my appearance. I’m one of those people who are constantly at it. I’ve gotten a little bit further every year.
How do you see the competitors?
The level keeps getting higher and we have a lot of interesting personalities. Today you have to be faster than ever to get into a final. I find it extremely exciting, but it’s also my sport.
Who do you find interesting?
Allyson Felix (US sprinter, ed.). Because she had enormous consistency at a high level and was always there. I’ve admired her since I was a teenager, she was very special to me. Even when she switched to the 400 meter distance. And then there’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce…
… the Jamaican. What fascinates you about her?
She is amazing. Not necessarily because of her colorful hair (laughs out loud). Others find that more interesting. But that she runs a personal best in her mid-thirties. This year, at 35, she ran more consistently than ever. It shows everyone that you can be up there with no problems until you are 35.
Felix and Fraser-Pryce both became mothers and have since returned to peak performance.
Yes, that’s fascinating.
Does that move you?
I talk to other people about it regularly. There are even more examples: hurdle sprinter Nia Ali, who just had a child, for example. She’s competing again. As soon as you have friends and sisters around you who have children, it becomes even clearer to you what pregnancy does to the body. You can understand even more clearly how great an achievement it is to get back to world level after pregnancy. And I have the feeling that women outside of sport also perceive it that way and are inspired by it.
How does that change career planning?
It has become a matter of course that pregnancy is no longer the end of a career. When an athlete tells me she’s pregnant, I no longer assume her career is over. It used to be different, at least in athletics there were hardly any other examples. It is very nice to see that this is also being noticed outside of sport.
Allyson Felix has been at the forefront of this.
It is what it is now thanks to Allyson (Felix successfully fought a contract clause with her sponsor Nike, which treated pregnancy as an injury, resulting in financial losses, ed.). We have her to thank for the fact that today as a woman you are no longer punished financially, but can still continue. And the nice thing is that Felix also proved that you can come back strong afterwards. We have to thank her for breaking through this wall for us.
Did you ever tell her that?
No never. But if I meet her again, I will.
“I don’t look down like I did a few years ago”Mujinga Kambundji
Felix left in the summer, Fraser-Pryce is still there, others like Elaine Thompson-Herah or Shericka Jackson are setting the tone at the moment. Where are they standing?
I’m seen more as a competitor, and that was accentuated again in 2022. The top people already saw in the hall last winter that I’m getting better. I am perceived by them as I perceive them.
How would you describe that?
If you’re a competitor, there won’t be any big exchanges before the competition. There is a nod, nothing more. According to the motto: “I noticed you”. But so am I. I want to hit her too, I don’t look down like I did six or seven years ago.
And after the competition?
After that you are more than just competitors. We’re not best friends now. But I have a very good relationship with the Europeans in particular. It’s like this with the British Daryll Neita: before the competition it’s all about competition, after that we talk a lot, exchange ideas. Or with Shelly Ann.
What’s Fraser-Pryce like?
She is a very open, warm person. You talk about whatever is happening. Last year her son had just started school, so it was about that and how she would like to fly home soon.
Do you give each other tips?
Shelly-Ann has never given me one. I’ve never asked her for one either. Marie-Josée Ta Lou is very friendly and I talk to her a lot. But tips… It’s more of an exchange, a confirmation, “Oh, that’s how it is for me, too”, or “Sometimes I try this and that”.
Which athletes impressed you in 2022?
My sister Ditaji. It’s extremely fun to see how she develops, how her attitude changes. She is becoming more and more professional, always wanting more. What she has achieved this year is very impressive. Nobody had her on their radar for a medal at the European Championships.
Over 100 meter hurdles: Here Ditaji Kambundji runs sensationally to EM bronze(00:23)
And then she won bronze in the 100 meter hurdles.
I was overjoyed that she was able to speak out when it counted. It was great to be there at the stadium, surprising everyone and herself. What a race! And what a fighting pig, how she threw herself across the finish line and took third place in the last meters!
What does 2023 bring for you?
I want to go faster. At some point I want to be able to say that it doesn’t get any better. And of course I’m looking forward to the World Cup in Hungary. There might be a chance for medals.
The brightly shining medals are said to have been your original motivation as a girl.
(Laughs.) It still is. Of course, a fast time is very appealing. But if you win a medal at championships… nobody can take that away from you anymore.
How many tenths faster can you run?
I always want to come under something. In 2022 it was under 10.90 over 100 meters. So a nice number would be under 10.80. But I don’t want to get too fixated on one time. If I do a good race, you can’t estimate what’s possible. I’m a competitive type, I can always go one better.
So we can say: Mujinga Kambundji wants to run 10.79?
The next target is 10.80. If my body does 10.81 and that’s my absolute limit, then I don’t want to be disappointed.
What headline would you like to read about your 2023 a year from now?
Phew, that’s difficult. Something along the lines of, “She’s getting better and better.” Every year I notice that I have even more potential, that I can run even faster. The question I always ask myself is: where are my limits? How many medals can I still get? I’ve thought to myself a few times in the last few years: That was okay of me, but there’s still more to do. I want to prove to myself that I can get even better every year.
The experienced Czech Ivet Lalova told you in the summer when you turned 30: “Now is the best time.” Is she right?
Till now, yes. I don’t know if this will continue. But so far it’s great.