Ottawa-
Belgian batsman Julien Bomko stepped out of his comfort zone and hit the track to save his team from elimination.
The 29-year-old ran the 100m hurdles at the European Athletics Championships in Poland on Saturday after her teammates withdrew due to injury.
“I’m just going to pick one for the team,” Pumko told CTV News in a video interview.
On the starting line, Bomco outperformed its competitors. The strong athlete is the Belgian hammer throw and throw champion.
“(The 100-meter hurdles) has never been my favorite event. Because it was a little bit intimidating for me,” Bomko said.
Despite past experiences, Pumko smiled at the starting line, dancing and waving to the crowd, her coach, and her teammates.
“They gave me extra confidence to do that,” said Bumko.
With a bounce in her step, she carefully removed each barrier in an effort to avoid injury.
“My plan was to go over the obstacles, but with all the adrenaline and stuff, I run a little bit more,” said Bumko.
Her last time was 32.81, 19 seconds behind the Spanish runner Teresa Arandonia, who won with a time of 13.22 seconds.
When hundreds of thousands of people on social media viewed a video of the smiling hitter, comments praising the athlete’s selflessness and team spirit began pouring in.
By finishing the race, Bomko earned two points for Belgium.
Unfortunately, this was not enough to prevent the country from falling further.
The team has had some bad luck, Bumko insists, and won’t be around for long.
“Next time we’ll be first class,” she said.
