Ditaji Kambundji is a Swiss athlete specializing in the sprint hurdles. She won the bronze medal in the 100 meters hurdles at the 2022 European Championships and bronze for the 60 meters hurdles at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.
Kambundji was the 100 m hurdles 2021 European under-20 champion and 2023 European U23 champion. She competed in the event at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She is the in the 100 meters hurdles at the 2022 European Championships and bronze for the 60 meters hurdles at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.
Ditaji Kambundji was born on 20 May 2002 in Bern to a Congolese father, Safuka, and a Swiss mother, Ruth. She is the last of four children. Her older sister is Swiss sprinter Mujinga Kambundji. She is the Swiss indoor record holder for the 60 m hurdles and outdoor 100 m hurdles. She is also a six-time national champion.
Ditaji grew up watching her siblings excel in athletics. She spent a majority of her time going to her sisters’ competitions and cheering them on, which naturally influenced her to follow in their footsteps. She gives credit to her sisters for laying the path for her and making it easier when she finally joined their track club. She tried different disciplines at first before gravitating toward the hurdles.
Both Ditaji and Mujinga enjoy gardening, as well as taking care of plants, when they are not competing.
Personal bests
60 m hurdles – 7.81 (St. Gallen 2023) NR
60 metres indoor – 7.31 (Magglingen 2023)
100 m hurdles – 12.47 (0.0 m/s, Bern 2023) NR
100 metres – 11.47 (+1.3 m/s, Langenthal 2022)
Medal record Women’s athletics Representing Switzerland
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2024 Rome 100 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Munich 100 m hurdles
European Indoor Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Istanbul 60 m hurdles
European U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Espoo 100 m hurdles
European U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Tallinn 100 m hurdles
Youth Olympic Festival
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Baku 100 m hurdles
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with Ditaji Kambundji, an exceptionally talented Swiss athlete, Bronze medalist 100 meters hurdles at the 2022 European Championships and Bronze medalist 60 meters hurdles at the 2023 European Indoor Championships. She talks about her fitness routine, diet, and success story.
Namita Nayyar:
You were born in Bern, Switzerland. Your older sister Mujinga Kambundji is also a Swiss sprinter, you grew up watching your siblings excel in athletics. This influenced you to take the hurdles as the event of your choice. You won the 100 m hurdles 2021 European under-20 championship. This later propelled your career to the height where you have been the European leading hurdler. Tell us more about your professional journey of exceptional hard work, tenacity, and endurance?
Ditaji Kambundji:
Yes, I grew up in a family of track and field athletes and this is very important to me and really shaped the beginning of my career and I think something that really helped was that I grew up with the mentality it was possible to be successful, it was possible to win international medals and I think that was also part of why I was able to win medals from an early age because I believed in that so I never had something that was holding me back.
I think that having a family that was always very supportive of what I was doing and knew the sport really well and my love for the sport has always been one of my greater advantages I think and especially in the early stages of my professional career until now having a big sister like Mujinga, that knew what it was like to be a professional athlete and already had a lot of experiences I think I was able to learn a lot from her and maybe she was able to tell me a lot of the mistakes that maybe she made that I was able to avoid and I really had a stable environment to really get better and get better at an early age.
Namita Nayyar:
It is a dream for an athlete to participate in the European Championships. You won a Bronze medal in the 100 meters hurdles at the 2022 European Championships and bronze for the 60 meters hurdles at the 2023 European Indoor Championships. Tell us more about these spectacular achievements of yours?
Ditaji Kambundji:
I think when I look back; Munich 2022 was a very, very special competition for me since it was the first international competition where I won a medal with the adults. And for me, it was at a really early age and it was a big surprise. And I was really happy to be able to do what was possible that day and win that bronze medal. And my whole family was there and my sister won also two medals. So it was really, really special. And I think Rome was different. I was two years older and I really had also very different expectations of myself when I went into that competition. And I think there I was really happy that I was able to really do my best, PB in the final like I was supposed to and win that silver medal. And I think step by step we’re getting closer to that gold medal.
Full Interview is Continued on Next Page
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