Ottawa–
Belgian shot putter Jolyon Boumkwo steps out of his comfort zone and into the lane to save his team from elimination.
The 29-year-old ran the 100m hurdles at the European Athletics Team Championships in Poland on Saturday after his teammates withdrew due to injury.
“I’ll take one for the team,” Boumkwo told CTV News in a video interview.
In the starting lineup, Boumkwo outclassed his competitors. The powerful athlete is the Belgian champion in the hammer throw and shot put.
“(100m hurdles) has never been my favorite event,” Boumkwo said. “Because she kind of scared me.”
Despite his past experiences, Boumkwo smiled, danced and waved to the crowd, his coach and his teammates at the start line.
“They gave me more confidence to do it,” Boumkwo said.
With a rebound under her, she slowly overcame each obstacle in an attempt to avoid injury.
“My plan is to run hurdles, but with all the adrenaline and stuff, I run a little more,” Boumkwo said.
Her final time was 32.81, 19 seconds behind the Spanish sprinter Teresa Errandonia, who she beat in 13.22.
As hundreds of thousands of people watched the video of the smiling shot putter on social media, comments began pouring in praising the athlete’s team spirit and selflessness.
At the end of the race, he earned two points for Belgium.
Unfortunately, this was not enough to prevent the country from being relegated.
Boumkwo insists that the team has been unlucky and won’t be around for long.
“Next time we will be in the first division,” he said.
