Swiss hurdler Ditaji Kambundji

Ditaji Kambundji is a Swiss athlete who specializes in sprint hurdles. She currently holds the title of World Champion in the 100m hurdles. Additionally, she earned a bronze medal at the 2022 European Championships and secured another bronze in the 60m hurdles at the 2023 European Indoor Championships. Ditaji Kambundji was crowned the 2021 European under-20 champion in the 100m hurdles and the 2023 European U23 champion. She participated in this event at both the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. She holds the Swiss record for both the 60m hurdles and the 100m hurdles. Furthermore, she is a six-time national champion. Her personal best time of 12.24 sec ranks her seventh on the all-time list.

Ditaji Kambundji was born on May 20, 2002, in Bern, Switzerland. She was raised observing her siblings thrive in sports and dedicated much of her time attending her sisters’ events to support them, which naturally inspired her to pursue a similar path.

Ditaji Kambundji achieved her inaugural senior national title on 12 September 2020, triumphing in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.07 sec. The subsequent year, she surpassed the sub-13 s threshold for the first time by clinching victory at the Meeting Meilen in 12.99 sec on 29 May. She successfully defended her Swiss title in June, clocking 13.03 sec. In the following month, she secured a gold medal at the European U20 Championships in Tallinn, also finishing with a time of 13.03 sec. Later that month, she participated in the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics, where she placed eighth in her heat with a time of 13.17 sec.

In 2022, Ditaji Kambundji achieved her first sub-8 s performance in the 60m hurdles, recording a time of 7.98 sec to win at the Nationales Hallenmeeting in Magglingen. She further enhanced her personal best to 7.97 sec, winning the Swiss Indoor Championships on 27 February. At the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, she reached the final of the 60m hurdles, although she did not finish the race. Prior to this, she had set a national record of 7.89 sec in the semi-final.

Ditaji Kambundji established a new personal best of 12.77 sec while winning the CITIUS Meeting in Bern on 14 June 2022. At the World Championships in Eugene the following month, she advanced to the semi-finals of the 100m hurdles, improving her personal best to 12.70 sec. Additionally, she participated in the European Championships, where she earned a bronze medal with a time of 12.74 sec.

In 2023, Ditaji Kambundji set a new national record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.81 sec, securing gold at the Swiss Indoor Championships. At the European Indoor Championships held in Istanbul, she earned a bronze medal in the 60m hurdles, clocking in at 7.91 sec.

During the 2023 European U23 Championships in Espoo, Ditaji Kambundji achieved gold in the 100m hurdles, establishing a new personal best and championship record of 12.68 sec. In August, she set a new European U23 record and national record of 12.47 sec while winning the final of the 100m hurdles at the CITIUS Meeting, surpassing her previous mark of 12.51 sec set in the heats. Later that month, she participated in the World Championships in Budapest, where she finished seventh in the final.

The following year, on 10 May, Ditaji Kambundji claimed her first Diamond League victory in Doha, narrowly defeating Tonea Marshall with a time of 12.49 sec. She followed this with another win at the Golden Spike Ostrava on 28 May, running a time of 12.63 sec. At the European Championships in Rome, she secured a silver medal in the 100m hurdles, enhancing her own European U23 record to 12.40 sec, finishing second to Cyrena Samba-Mayela. In August, Ditaji Kambundji competed at the Paris Olympics, where she recorded a time of 12.68 sec, placing fifth in her semi-final.

In February 2025, Ditaji Kambundji secured her fourth national title in the 60m hurdles at the Swiss Indoor Championships, achieving a time of 7.82 sec. At the European Indoor Championships in March, she claimed gold in the 60m hurdles, setting a European record of 7.67 sec, which positioned her second on the all-time rankings. Additionally, she participated in the World Indoor Championships held in March, where she earned a silver medal, finishing behind Devynne Charlton with a time of 7.73 sec.

Ditaji Kambundji triumphed in the 100m at the European Team Championships First Division in June 2025, clocking a wind-assisted time of 12.39 sec (+2.2 m/s). She maintained her impressive performance with a second-place finish at the Monaco Diamond League, recording a time of 12.43 sec (-1.1 m/s), which was her second-fastest time at that moment. On 15 July, she emerged victorious at the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern with a time of 12.49 sec. She matched her national record of 12.40 sec by finishing second behind Ackera Nugent at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on 28 August. At the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Kambundji achieved an unexpected gold medal in the 100m hurdles, setting a new national record of 12.24 sec, which was the seventh-fastest time recorded in history at that point.

Ditaji Kambundji in numbers

1x World champion
1x World Indoor Championships silver medalist
1x European Indoor champion
1x European Championships silver medalist
1x European Championships bronze medalist
1x Diamond League champion
1x European record holder
2x National record holder
1x European U23 champion
1x European U20 champion
Personal best: 7.67 sec (60m hurdles), 12.24 sec (100m hurdles), 11.41 sec (100m)

More photos of Ditaji Kambundji