Cindy Sember

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 Athletics 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.

Cindy Sember
Ofili in 2022
Personal information
Birth nameCynthia Nonyelum Ofili
NationalityBritish, American
Born (1994-08-05) 5 August 1994
Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Sport
CountryUnited Kingdom
SportTrack and field
Event(s)60 metres hurdles
100 metres hurdles
60 metres
200 metres
College teamUniversity of Michigan
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)12.50 (100 m hurdles)
7.89i (60 m hurdles)
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place2021 Torun60m hurdles
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2022 Birmingham100m hurdles

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 two time British champion in the 100 mete hurdles.

Biography

Ofili 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] The move caused some controversy in Britain, with detractors labeling Ofili a "plastic Brit"; 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.

She 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.

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
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
(sf) Indicates overall position in semifinals

References
  1. "Cindy Ofili and Zharnel Hughes have GB allegiance confirmed". Athletics Weekly. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  2. "Tiffany Porter and Cindy Ofili secure GB places at world championships". The Guardian. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  3. Cindy Sember at Tilastopaja (registration required)
  4. "Cindy Ofili Bio". mgoblue.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  5. Jennings, Chantel (10 June 2015). "Michigan Hurdler Cindy Ofili Emerges From Her Star Sister's Shadow". ESPN. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  6. Minshull, Phil (14 June 2015). "Little wins NCAA 400m hurdles in world-leading 53.74". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  7. Bloom, Ben (2 July 2015). "Cindy Ofili insists she feels British despite being US-born". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  8. "Ennis-Hill named in British team for IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015". International Association of Athletics Federations. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  9. "Results list". British Athletics.
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