Cynthia Nonyelum Sember (née Ofili; born 5 August 1994) is an American-born British track and field athlete, specialising in sprint hurdles. She finished fourth in the 100 metres hurdles final at the 2016 Olympic Games as a 22 year old but suffered significant injury set backs thereafter which interrupted most of the next Olympic cycle. Her first major international medal, a silver at the 2021 European Indoor Championships sparked a return to form and fitness that saw her finish fifth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, and secure bronze for England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, her first senior outdoor medal. She made the final of the same event at the 2022 European Athletics Championships but a stumble left her in 8th position in her third major final of the year.
 Ofili in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Cynthia Nonyelum Ofili | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British, American | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 August 1994 Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 60 metres hurdles 100 metres hurdles 60 metres 200 metres | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 12.50 (100 m hurdles) 7.89i (60 m hurdles) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Her time in the World Championships semi-finals, 12.50, is a British record in the outdoor event. Her 12.38 from the final is the fastest time ever run by a British athlete in the event, but was wind-assisted.
Domestically, Sember is a five-time British champion in the 100 metres hurdles.
Biography
editOfili is a native of Ypsilanti, Michigan, and the younger sister of fellow hurdler Tiffany Porter (née Ofili); as her mother is British and her dad Nigerian, she was born with American, Nigerian, and British citizenship.[1][2] In 2014, her sophomore year at the University of Michigan, Ofili qualified for the 60 m hurdles final at the NCAA indoor championships, placing sixth in a personal best 8.07; outdoors, she broke 13 seconds in the 100 m hurdles for the first time, winning the Big Ten conference championship in 12.93.[3] In addition to hurdling, she competed in the sprints, setting Michigan indoor school records at both 60 metres (7.37) and 200 metres (23.69).[4]
Ofili's times improved in 2015, and she became a leading collegiate hurdler;[5] at the NCAA outdoor championships in Eugene she placed second in a personal best 12.60, losing only to Keni Harrison of Kentucky.[6] She also qualified for the NCAA championship meet in the flat 100 m, but despite running a school record 11.39 she was eliminated in the semi-finals in that event.[3][4]
Ofili could have chosen to internationally represent either the United States, Great Britain or Nigeria (her father's country of origin); in June 2015 it was announced that she had selected Britain, following her older sister Tiffany Porter.[1] Ofili, who unlike her sister had not represented the United States as a junior, stated she felt British.[7] At the 2015 British championships Ofili placed second to Porter in 12.96, qualifying to represent Britain later that summer at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing.[2][8]
Ofili finished fourth in the 100m hurdles final at the 2016 Rio Olympics, in 12.63 secs.
In 2020, Ofili became a double British champion when successfully defending her title and winning the 100 metres hurdles event at the 2020 British Athletics Championships in a time of 13.16 sec.[9]
Sember began competing under her married name of Cindy Sember from the 2021 season onwards. She won three more consecutive 100 metres hurdle titles from 2022 to 2024 respectively. After winning the 100 metres hurdles gold medal at the 2024 British Athletics Championships, Sember was subsequently named in the Great Britain team for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[10]
International competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Great Britain
| |||||
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 13th (sf) | 100 m hurdles | 12.91 |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 4th | 100 m hurdles | 12.63 |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 15th (sf) | 100 m hurdles | 12.95 |
| 2021 | European Indoor Championships | Torun, Poland | 2nd | 60 m hurdles | 7.87 |
| Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 15th (sf) | 100 m hurdles | 12.76 | |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, United States | 5th | 100 m hurdles | 12.38 |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 3rd | 100 m hurdles | 12.59 | |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 8th | 100 m hurdles | 13.16 | |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 18th (sf) | 100 m hurdles | 12.97 |
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 7th | 60 m hurdles | 7.92 |
| European Championships | Rome, Italy | 4th | 100 m hurdles | 12.56 | |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 10th (h) | 100 m hurdles | 12.721 | |
| (sf) Indicates overall position in semifinals | |||||
1Did not finish in the semifinals
References
edit- ^ a b "Cindy Ofili and Zharnel Hughes have GB allegiance confirmed". Athletics Weekly. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Tiffany Porter and Cindy Ofili secure GB places at world championships". The Guardian. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ a b Cindy Sember at Tilastopaja (registration required)
- ^ a b "Cindy Ofili Bio". mgoblue.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ Jennings, Chantel (10 June 2015). "Michigan Hurdler Cindy Ofili Emerges From Her Star Sister's Shadow". ESPN. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ Minshull, Phil (14 June 2015). "Little wins NCAA 400m hurdles in world-leading 53.74". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ Bloom, Ben (2 July 2015). "Cindy Ofili insists she feels British despite being US-born". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "Ennis-Hill named in British team for IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015". International Association of Athletics Federations. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "Results list". British Athletics.
- ^ "Kerr & Johnson-Thompson head GB Olympics athletics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
External links
edit
- Cindy Sember at World Athletics
- Cindy Sember at British Athletics
- Cindy Sember at Power of 10
- Cindy Sember at Team GB
- Cindy Sember at Team England
- Cindy Ofili at Olympedia (archive)
- Cindy Ofili at Olympics.com
- Cindy Sember at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
- Cindy Sember at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
