Cynthia Nonyelum Sember ( Ofili; born 5 August 1994) is an American-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete, specialising in sprint hurdles. She finished fourth in the 100 metres hurdles final at the

2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

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 Indoor Championships sparked a return to form and fitness that saw her finish fifth at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

, and secure bronze for England at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

, her first senior outdoor medal. She made the final of the same event at the

2022 European Athletics Championships The 2022 European Athletics Championships were the 25th edition of the European Athletics Championships and were held in Munich, Germany, from 15 to 21 August 2022. They were part of the 2022 European Championships, European Championships, a multi ...

but a stumble left her in 8th position in her third major final of the year. 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 five-time British champion in the 100 metres hurdles.

Biography

Ofili is a native of

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

, 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. In 2014, her

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

year at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Ofili qualified for the

60 m hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on bo ...

final at the NCAA indoor championships, placing sixth in a personal best 8.07; outdoors, she broke 13 seconds in the

100 m hurdles The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first hurdle is ...

for the first time, winning the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

conference championship in 12.93. In addition to hurdling, she competed in the sprints, setting Michigan indoor school records at both

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

(7.37) and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

(23.69). Ofili's times improved in 2015, and she became a leading collegiate hurdler; at the NCAA outdoor championships in

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

she placed second in a personal best 12.60, losing only to Keni Harrison of Kentucky. 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. 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. Ofili, who unlike her sister had not represented the United States as a junior, stated she felt British. 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 The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Ofili finished fourth in the 100m hurdles final at the

2016 Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, in 12.63 secs. In 2020, Ofili became a double British champion when successfully defending her title and winning the 100 metres hurdles event at the

2020 British Athletics Championships The 2020 British Athletics Championships (known for sponsorship reasons as the Müller British Athletics Championships) was the national championship in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom. The championship took place on ...

in a time of 13.16 sec. Sember began competing under her married name of Cindy Sember from the 2021 season onwards. She won three more consecutive 100 metres hurdle titles from 2022 to 2024 respectively. After winning the 100 metres hurdles gold medal at the

2024 British Athletics Championships The 2024 British Athletics Championships (sponsored by Microplus Timing) is the national championships in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, which also served as a qualifying event for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The even ...

, Sember was subsequently named in the Great Britain team for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

International competitions

¹Did not finish in the semifinals

References

External links

* * * * * * *
Cindy Sember
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sember, Cindy 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Ypsilanti, Michigan Track and field athletes from Michigan British female hurdlers English female hurdlers American female hurdlers Olympic female hurdlers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain British Athletics Championships winners Michigan Wolverines women's track and field athletes American people of British descent American sportspeople of Nigerian descent NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportswomen Diamond League winners 21st-century English sportswomen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics