Top Lucerne Athletics with Kambundji and Sprunger

The Swiss hopefuls at the Meeting of the Top Lucerne Athletes are based on Mujinga Kambundji (left) and Lea Sprunger (Photo: KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BROWN)

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Kambundji and Sprunger face the same question again and again. The Bernese sprinter with whom she exceeds the magical mark of eleven seconds on 100 m and jumps when she crosses the 400 m hurdles of the Swiss record of Anita Protti, 27 years old. It is indisputable that both are capable of doing so, so they prefer to put this problem on hold sooner rather than later.

The Lucerne meeting offers a good opportunity, as the last two proved their good form and the wagering conditions were ideal. appear. Kambundji improved Thursday at the Athletissima de Lausanne his own Swiss record in 100m by four hundredths to 11.03 seconds. This step means a lot to her, since she had already run 11.07 seconds in August 2015 for the first time. After that, it was necessary to wait until July 2017 before returning to normal

. Due to the stagnation decided by Kambundji last fall, the collaboration with German coach Valerij Bauer has been fruitful after four years. She rejoined the Dutchman Henk Kraaijenhof, but quickly realized that he was not the right coach for her and separated from him after two months.

In the domestic season, Kambundji helped his former youth coach Jacques Cordey and Magglingen in training trainer Adrian Rothenbühler. Meanwhile, US coach Rana Reider, who oversees Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers, writes his training plans. It puts them again and again alone. Both have daily but by phone or SMS. In April, she had been with him in Florida for three weeks.

The fact that Kambundji listened to his feelings pays off. In March, she won more than 60m of sensational bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, and now she has also taken a 100m step. "The fact that I did this time in the middle of the season and in a less than perfect race is very, very positive for me," said Kambundji, who also runs more than 200m in Lucerne. "It was a good start, I'm very confident for Monday." One of her opponents over 100m tall will likely be the two-time Olympic champion and seven-time Jamaican world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser- Pryce, who became a mother for the first time last August

There is a lot to expect from Lea Sprunger In Lausanne, the Vaudoise has established a better European season in the 400m hurdles with 54.79 seconds Four days earlier, at La Chaux-de-Fonds, it had reduced its Swiss record of 400 m, from 57 hundredths to 50.52 seconds, making it the number one in Europe this year

.However, it was not completely satisfied with his appearance at the Athletissima. "It was not a perfect race at all. I was too passive in the second corner, "Sprunger said. The pace had been good until the end, so that they could take advantage of it. Self-confidence is definitely right – as is the Lucerne estate. Among others, the US Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad at the start. The Swiss record of Anita Protti of 54.25 seconds is definitely threatened.

The organizers of the best athletics, despite a modest budget of 750,000 Swiss francs, have not only made more than 100 and 400 meters hurdles for women. Even otherwise, the expected 6000 to 7000 spectators can expect attractive competitions with the best athletes. In addition to Muhammad, three other 2016 Olympic champions are on the starting list with American Brianna McNeil (previously Rollins / 100m hurdles), German Thomas Röhler (launches) and Jamaican Yohan Blake ( gold over 4×100 m). In the pole vault is Jennifer Suhr, the 2012 Olympic champion, here. The American is the best in the world with 4.93 m.