Léa Sprunger (born 5 March 1990) is a former Swiss track and field athlete. Originally a

heptathlete A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

like her older sister

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: *Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress *Ellen A ...

, she began concentrating on the

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 slightl ...

and

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

in 2011, and then on the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ...

from 2015. Her best times in the 400m and 400m hurdles of 50.52 s (2018) and 54.06 s (2019) are the

Swiss records Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places *Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss International ...

. She finished fifth in the 400m hurdles final at the 2017 World Championships, and went on to win the gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburgh hosting the diving events and Glene ...

Career

Born in

Nyon Nyon (; outdated German: or ; outdated Italian: , ) is a municipality in Nyon District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the G ...

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

, Sprunger competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's 200 m event and the

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smalles ...

. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she competed in the

400 m hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

event and at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the

event and the

4 × 400 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smalles ...

. At the 2016 European Championships she finished third in the 400 m hurdles race. She won this event two years later at the

. Her personal best in the 400 m hurdles is 54.06 s set in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...

on 4 October 2019, also representing a new national record.Léa Sprunger
IAAF. Retrieved on 05 October 2019. She also holds the national record in the 400 metres with 50.52 s (set in La-Chaux-de-Fonds on 1 July 2018). In addition, she held the national record in the 200 metres for three years with 22.18 s (set in Geneva on 17 July 2016 and improved by

Mujinga Kambundji Mujinga Kambundji (born 17 June 1992) is a Swiss sprinter. She won the bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2019 World Championships. Kambundji is the 60 metres 2022 World indoor champion, becoming the joint fourth-fastest woman of all time ...

on 24 August 2019). Léa Sprunger retired from competitive athletics in September 2021.

International championships

¹Disqualified in the final ²Did not finish in the final ³Disqualified in the semifinals

References

Living people Swiss female sprinters Swiss heptathletes Olympic athletes for Switzerland Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics 1990 births People from Nyon World Athletics Championships athletes for Switzerland European Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Indoor Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic female sprinters Sportspeople from the canton of Vaud {{Switzerland-athletics-bio-stub