Belgium shot put and hammer throw champion Jolien Boumkwo displayed great team spirit at the European Championships in Poland when she stepped up outside her event and ran a 100 meters hurdles race to save her team from getting disqualified.
Boumkwo appeared all smiles when she carefully attempted each hurdle Saturday in a video that went viral, after she stepped in when Belgium's two hurdlers had to pull out due to injury.
An amazing moment at the European Team Championships ?
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) June 24, 2023
Belgium's Anne Zagré was going to run the 100m hurdles but got injured ??
So shot putter (with every point counting) Jolien Boumkwo stepped in at the last minute and this was the result ?pic.twitter.com/2V7l3P2lBh
Had no Belgian athlete competed in the event, the team would have been disqualified.
The 29-year old finished the race without knocking any of the hurdles down in 32.81 seconds, 19 seconds after Spanish sprinter Teresa Errandonea who won with 13.22.
The US Open champion @carlosalcaraz won his next four matches without dropping a set and is confident of going beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time@DjokerNole @Wimbledon https://t.co/b1lreGbLt8
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) June 26, 2023
Boumkwo was applauded by the audience and congratulated by her rivals as she earned two points for the team.
The points could be crucial as the bottom three countries will be relegated from Division 1.