Cynthia Bolingo

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Cynthia Bolingo
Cynthia Bolingo 2018 ECh.jpg
Bolingo at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin
Personal information
Full nameCynthia Maduengele Bolingo Mbongo
Born (1993-01-12) 12 January 1993 (age 31)
Uccle, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) 100 m, 200 m, 400m
ClubCABW
Coached byJean Pecher (–2012)
Carole Bam (2012–
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
European Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Rome 4×400 m relay
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Glasgow 400 m
European Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Kraków-Małopolska 4×400 m mixed

Cynthia Maduengele Bolingo Mbongo (born 12 January 1993), [1] known as Cynthia Bolingo, is a Belgian sprinter. In a career beset with injuries, she won the silver medal in the 400 metres at the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 metres at the 2024 European Athletics Championships.

Contents

Bolingo competed in the 200 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing without advancing from the first round.

A few weeks after winning that silver medal in the 400 metres at the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Bolingo felt a pain in her Achilles that got worse and worse and finally forced her to scrap the entire 2019 season. It would be 18 months before she ran in competition again. [2]

On 1 June 2021, she broke the Belgian record on the 400 metres at a meeting in Montreuil, France; with a time of 50 seconds and 75 hundreds, she improved upon the 16-year-old time of 51 seconds 45 hundreds by Kim Gevaert, and qualified to compete at the 2020 Olympics. [3] A month later, she broke it again, lowering it to 50.29 seconds. [4] But then, in the final run-up for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, she sustained a hamstring injury in training camp in Mito, Japan, making it impossible for her to run at the Olympics. [5]

On 22 August 2023 she qualified for the 400m final of the world championships by setting a time of 49 s 96 in the semi-final, improving her Belgian record and becoming the first Belgian to reach the final of a 400 metres at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

In June 2024, she was on the Belgian 4 x 400 metres women's relay team that won a bronze medal at the European Athletics Championships. [6] Early July she again sustained an injury during a 400m race. [7] The injury prevented her from running in both the 4x400 women's and mixed relays at the 2024 Summer Olympics denting Belgian teams's chances for a medal. In the only race she did compete in at the Olympics, the women's 400 metres, an obviously not fit Bolingo finished a disappointing 42nd in the heats. [8]

International competitions

Bolingo runs in the women's 4x400 m relay at the 2018 European Athletics Championships EKB42716 4x400m dames bolingo (43011890260).jpg
Bolingo runs in the women's 4x400 m relay at the 2018 European Athletics Championships
Representing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
2011 European Junior Championships Tallinn, Estonia 5th4 × 100 m relay45.15
2013 European U23 Championships Tampere, Finland 12th (h)200 m 23.96
4 × 100 m relay DQ
Jeux de la Francophonie Nice, France 3rd200 m 24.08
1st4 × 100 m relay 44.70
2015 European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia 8th400 m 52.82
World Championships Beijing, China 43rd (h)200 m 23.45
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 63rd (h)200 m 23.98
2017 Universiade Taipei, Taiwan 22nd (h)200 m 24.80
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany 16th (sf)400 m 51.92
4th4 × 400 m relay 3:27.69
2019 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 2nd400 m 51.62
5th4 × 400 m relay 3:32.46
2021 European Indoor Championships Toruń, Poland 17th (sf)400 m 53.74
World Relays Chorzów, Poland 3rd (h)4 × 400 m relay 3:28.27
2022 European Championships Munich, Germany7th400 m 50.94
4th4 × 400 m relay 3:22.12 NR
2023 European Games Chorzów, Poland 3rd4 x 400 m mixed 3:12.97
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 5th400 m 50.33
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 4th4 × 400 m relay 3:28.05
European Championships Rome, Italy 3rd4 × 400 m relay 3:22.95 SB
Olympic Games Paris, France 42nd (h)400 m 52.77 SB

Records

ÉpreuvesTempsLieuDate
60 m indoor7 s 25Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Louvain-La-Neuve 2022
100 m outdoor11 s 28Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Nivelles 2021
200 m outdoor22 s 79Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Nivelles 2021
indoor24 s 92Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Ghent 2011
400 m outdoor49 s 96 (NR)Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Budapest 2023
indoor51 s 62 (NR)Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Glasgow 2019
4 × 400 m relay outdoor3 min 22 s 12 (NR)Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Munich 2022

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References

  1. Cynthia Bolingo at World Athletics OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. "After a brutally painful year, Bolingo learning to live in the moment". World Athletics. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  3. "Cynthia Bolingo verpulvert Belgisch record op 400 meter: "Een bevrijding"". Sporza (in Dutch). 1 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  4. "Bolingo and Vanderelst break Belgian records in Heusden". European Athletics. 5 July 2021.
  5. "Cynthia Bolingo revient sur son forfait à Tokyo: "C'est derrière moi mais je n'oublie pas"" (in French). Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  6. "Gold and bronze for Belgian men and women in 4x400m relay" (in French). Belga (news agency). 12 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  7. "Olympics: Cynthia Bolingo injured in 400m race in Italy". Belga (news agency). 18 July 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  8. "400 METRES WOMEN Heats". World Athletics . Retrieved 28 August 2024.