Ditaji Kambundji enjoys the sunshine in Bern and conducts the interview on the tartan track
Image: Keystone
Everyday training remains tough even for a world champion: Ditaji Kambundji in the running tunnel at the Wankdorf sports hall
Image: Keystone
Starting exercises with rope and counterweight
Image: Keystone
The beloved hurdles are set up
Image: Keystone
The world champion alone in Bern during a training run in mid-December
Image: Keystone
Coach Florian Clivaz and Ditaji Kambundji discuss a few details after training
Image: Keystone
Ditaji Kambundji enjoys the sunshine in Bern and conducts the interview on the tartan track
Image: Keystone
Everyday training remains tough even for a world champion: Ditaji Kambundji in the running tunnel at the Wankdorf sports hall
Image: Keystone
Starting exercises with rope and counterweight
Image: Keystone
The beloved hurdles are set up
Image: Keystone
The world champion alone in Bern during a training run in mid-December
Image: Keystone
Coach Florian Clivaz and Ditaji Kambundji discuss a few details after training
Image: Keystone
Ditaji Kambundji is a world champion in athletics and has since become one of Switzerland's best-known sportswomen. The Bernese athlete remains uncomplicated and far removed from airs and graces.
12.12.2025, 04:01
12.12.2025, 07:13
SDA
The sun is shining in Bern. It's mild for this time of year. That's why Ditaji Kambundji suggests conducting the interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency outdoors. The interview takes place on the tartan track at the Wankdorf athletics facility. Shortly beforehand, the 23-year-old from Bern had been training there - at the same time as amateur runners. That suits the 100 m hurdles world champion, who is uncomplicated and far removed from airs and graces.
Ditaji Kambundji, in September you made national athletics history by winning the 100 m hurdles world championship title in Tokyo. Never before had a Swiss woman become world champion in this sport. Has this changed anything for you?
"I always say yes and no. For me, it's clearly the greatest moment in my sporting career. I have achieved a goal and can now put a tick behind something that was possible for me but had to be achieved first. I'm excited to see what it will be like when I go to the competitions, I'll probably be a little less underestimated next year. In everyday life, you quickly return to reality, to normal life. Training is still tough and will remain so."
Did you also receive reactions from international stars after your triumph?
"There were a lot of people from the sporting world who were moved. I saw Sally Pearson (the 2012 Olympic 100m hurdles champion) in the mixed zone and she quickly hugged me - I'd never seen her before. That was really special."
You are now probably recognized everywhere in Switzerland, is that sometimes difficult?
"People are very reserved here. In addition, all interactions are always very positive. People keep coming up to me and saying they had to cry themselves. The fact that I have moved strangers to tears with something that means a lot to me is something very beautiful. That's why I appreciate every interaction and really enjoy it. But it's not like my life has changed at all when I go outside and lots of people talk to me."
Nevertheless, you now generate more attention. Is it easy for you to say no?
"There are still 24 hours in a day, training will always be the most important thing. But it's absolutely part of the job to make time for important appointments, and I do that. Of course you can't do everything all the time, you have to be selective. In this respect, I'm glad that my management supports me and filters a lot of things. Because when I do something, I want to do it properly."
When you think back to the World Championship title, is it sometimes still a little surreal?
"I found it exciting that talking about it really helped me to process the whole thing. Everything comes to the fore again in interviews. But it's by no means the case that I'm at a point where it's still surreal. But sure, it will always be mega special. However, I don't get up every day and think: 'Good morning, world champion'."
What else do you know about your run?
"Not that much. I don't remember hurdles one to seven at all. At hurdles eight, nine and ten, I realized that things were going well. I heard the announcer in the stadium - which has never happened to me before - shout: 'Kambundji is in front'. Then I thought: 'Okay, still to the line'. After the finish I have more memories again, but I wasn't sure if I had won. Sometimes it's funny - when I think back, I don't even know whether I'm seeing it from my perspective or from the video. An incredible amount happens in a very short space of time."
You pulverized your Swiss record in the final and achieved a time of 12.22 seconds, which puts you in 7th place in the all-time best list. Hand on heart, did you think such a time was possible?
"I have to say: yes. I thought it was possible to win and I knew that a low 20s time would be necessary. The difference between this season and last was that I managed to achieve good consistency. I regularly achieved times in the 40s and 50s and something was always not quite right. At the last competition before the World Championships, at Weltklasse Zürich, I ran 12.40, even though I hit the last hurdle. If you're consistent, then the time will be a lot better if there's an outlier at the top."
So your initial confidence was immense?
"Yes. This season has shown me that I have the potential for it. And then I trust myself enough to call on it. It also helped that the competition was extremely tough. I knew that there wasn't just one or two people who dominated. Rather, it was the case that many are very fast and I'm one of them."
Were you born with this mental strength, so to speak, as your sister Mujinga usually delivers when it counts?
"For me, it's always been the case that nervousness never paralyzed me in an important competition, but rather pushed me on. Even when I was young, I was able to channel the tension into something productive. But it also took work. The biggest part for me, however, is the experience. I've found out what works for me: I have to be mega calm, focused, concentrated. For me, that's the perfect mental state that allows me to perform at my best. I've also worked with a sports psychologist, but that's not regularly the case."
Mujinga's experiences must have helped too, right?
"Above all, I was able to benefit from the environment she created. My luck is that her best solution can also be my best solution. Of course with additions, such as Claudine (Müller, her hurdles coach). But I didn't have to build a basic structure."
You stayed in Japan after the World Championship title. How important was it to process the whole thing away from home?
"It was good that I didn't go home straight after the turbulent World Championships, because it would have been turbulent again there. I was able to gain some distance. However, it's hard to travel around after a major event, I realized that. I was glad when I got back home and saw my family. Later, I was also in Scotland, where it was also very nice."
How do you generally relax best?
"By spending time with my family and friends. I'm also interested in lots of things besides sport."
Namely?
"It always changes. At the moment I'm doing a lot of sewing, which I started at the beginning of the year. I love cooking and I also enjoy working in the garden. And then I'm a bookworm."
The results show that the training is working. Do you still see room for improvement?
"Absolutely, I'm only 23 years old. The most important thing for next season is to achieve consistency at an even higher level. I've built up a good basis over the last few years, now we can go into much more detail - work on the start, on the last four hurdles. There is always room for improvement there. The World Championship final was the perfect race for this year, but not for my life."
How realistic is it for you to break the world record one day? Is it still twelve hundredths away?
"Very realistic, but it always has to be done first. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself. But if I had ruled out the possibility of becoming world champion, then maybe I wouldn't have become world champion. I never set myself a limit. That would be a message from me that I would pass on to children."
In conclusion: Christmas is coming soon. What do you want?
"Nothing special. I'm just looking forward to Christmas like every year. I'm curious to see who drew me at the Secret Santa (laughs)."
