Jolien Boumkwo (screen capture)Belgian shot putter Jolien Boumkwo stepped out of her comfort zone, and onto the track at the European Athletics Team Championships last Saturday in Poland.
The 29-year-old, Belgium’s national champ in the shot-put, ran the 100-meter hurdles after Team Belgium’s two hurdlers were forced to pull out due to injury. If no one ran for Belgium, the team could have been eliminated from the competition.
So, Boumkwo stepped up with the best of attitudes, knowing she wouldn’t win. She told reporters after the race that she just wanted to complete the race clean and without injury.
In doing so, she earned two very important points for her team.
One day earlier, Boumkwo had finished seventh in the shot put, an event in which she recently broke her own national record.
I can’t tell you how much I love this.
Check out her interview with ESPN’s Sports Center below.