Belgium shot putter runs hurdles to keep her country's hopes alive at European Championships

The world of athletics saw an incredible occurrence take place, as a shot putter crossed over sports to prevent her country from disqualifying, and came away with more than what she would have bargained for. Jolien Boumkwo is in Poland for the European Athletic Championships representing her country Belgium, competing in shot put and hammer throw. She wouldn’t have imagined she would also be representing her country in 100m hurdles in her preparations for her events, but when push came to shove, she made the brave decision of nominating herself to run the race for her country.

The Belgium team was forced into making a decision after both their hurdlers, Anne Zagre and Hanne Claes, were ruled out from the event due to injury. If Belgium didn't enter a participant in the hurdles event, they would have been disqualified from the Championship's medal tally as a whole, prompting Boumkwo to take action.

The shot putter had finished seventh in her own event, and suited up for the hurdles on Sunday, having earlier put on social media that her scheduled participation in the hurdles was not a joke. She was pictured wearing a big smile as the contestant lined up for the race. Boumkwo crossed over the finish line in 32.81 seconds, over 19 seconds after first-placed Teresa Errandonea of Spain, but was met by hi-fives and handshakes at the finish line to celebrate her effort for her country.

She earned two points for Belgium from the race, which could have proven to be significant as their place in the first division of European athletics was at stake. Before the hurdles, they were in last place of the 16 countries in the first division, with the last three finishers getting relegated to the second division.

At the end of the event, Belgium would finish 14th and agonizingly short of safety, but the heroic effort by Boumkwo, which has earned her plaudits all over social media, kept them in the hunt for staying in division 1, and will no doubt be remembered fondly amongst the country’s athletes.

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