Javelin thrower Hügli sets a Swiss record – Mujinga Kambundji not yet in top form

Leonie Hügli, 21, broke the previous national record by 24 centimeters with a throw of 62.18 meters. She had set that record herself just two months ago. Overall, Hügli surpassed the 60-meter mark on Thursday evening for only the third time in her career. She thus secured a commanding victory. Second place went to Germany’s Julia Ulbricht with a throw of 60.03 meters.

Hügli didn't set the record until her final attempt. Prior to that, the LC Kirchberg athlete had two failed attempts and didn't exceed 55 meters in her other attempts.

“I had a little trouble. On my last throw, I told myself I just had to have fun. It worked,” Hügli said in an SRF interview after her competition. “It’s super cool to do something like this at home and share it with everyone.”

Hügli is ready for the European Championships, which begin in Birmingham in just under a month. She had already demonstrated her strong form at the meet in Zagreb in late June, where she also secured the victory.

More Swiss People Are Making an Impression

In addition to Hügli, other top Swiss athletes also delivered strong performances in Lucerne. Timothé Mumenthaler took second place in the 200-meter race and set a personal season best of 20.31 seconds. Only Prince Phaezel Selepe prevented a Swiss victory by six hundredths of a second. Jason Joseph also finished in second place. In his first race since early June, he clocked 13.38 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. Mondray Barnard secured the victory by a margin of two hundredths of a second.

On the women’s side, pole vaulter Angelica Moser delivered an impressive performance. The 28-year-old secured the victory with a jump of 4.61 m. 200-meter runner Fabienne Hoenke also finished her race at the Allmend with a win. She had set a Swiss U23 record just last Friday during her Diamond League debut in Monaco. However, she was unable to match the 22.50 she ran a week ago, clocking a time of 22.78.

Annik Kälin, who recently set a Swiss record in the heptathlon, finished the long jump competition in second place.

Kambundji still needs to race

Mujinga Kambundji did not achieve her best performance. After giving birth to her first child last November, she ran the 100-meter dash in 11.58. In her comeback in Bulle last weekend, she impressed with a time of 11.33.

“I can tell I still need more races. It’s good for me to have a lot of races with strong competition,” Kambundji said in a TV interview. “I can tell my body isn’t quite there yet. I got back into shape pretty quickly, but to achieve top times, I need to take it up a notch and give it a little more time.”

The 100-meter title went to Tina Clayton of Jamaica; the top Swiss finisher was Géraldine Di Tizio-Frey, who placed fourth with a time of 11.20 seconds.