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

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

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

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

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 The 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held from 4 to 7 March 2021 at the Arena Toruń in Toruń, Poland. This was the second time this event was held in Poland after the 1975 edition in Katowice. The four-day competition featured 1 ...

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

, 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 European Championships, a multi-sport tournament which brin ...

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 two time British champion in the 100 mete hurdles.

Biography

Ofili is a native of

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

, and the younger sister of fellow hurdler

Tiffany Porter Dr. Tiffany Adaeze Porter ( Ofili; born 13 November 1987) is a track and field athlete with joint British and American nationality who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles. She represented the United States as a junior, but began representing Gr ...

(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 educational institutions. In ...

year at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, 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 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) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

conference championship in 12.93. In addition to hurdling, she competed in the

sprints Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle * Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint ...

, setting Michigan indoor school records at both 60 metres (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 slightl ...

(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 * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

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. 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. 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 (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

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

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, 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 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.

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sember, Cindy 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Ypsilanti, Michigan Track and field athletes from Michigan British female hurdlers American female hurdlers Olympic female hurdlers Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics 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 Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games