Mujinga and Ditaji Kambundji and Jason Joseph highlighted the Swiss Indoor Championships in St. Gallen this weekend with super-fast times in the sprint events ahead of the Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships from 2-5 March.
Kambundji is rounding into the form which took to an unexpected world indoor 60m title last March. After clocking 7.06 in the semifinals, Kambundji scorched to victory in the final on Saturday (18) in 7.03 - the joint second fastest time of her career so far.
Kambundji was initially running under protest after an alleged false start but after a protest was made, her disqualification was later overturned and the result was made official. "Still frustrated because a lot more was possible without this first 'false start,'" wrote Kambundji on her Instagram account.
Her time was also a European lead, displacing Dina Asher-Smith’s British record of 7.04 from Karlsruhe at the top of the 2023 European list.
Kambundji’s younger sister Ditaji took to the track the following day on Sunday (19) and the 20-year-old smashed her Swiss record in the 60m hurdles. After clocking 7.93 in the heats, Kambundji powered to victory in the final in 7.81.
Her time was narrowly outside the European lead of 7.78 set by Pia Skrzyszowska earlier this month but the Pole has been ruled out of the rest of the indoor season due to a hamstring injury sustained at the Copernicus Cup in Torun.
A former European U20 and U23 champion in the 110m hurdles, Jason Joseph will contend for his first major senior title in the 60m hurdles in Istanbul next month.
The 24-year-old improved his Swiss record and European lead from 7.48 to 7.45 in the 60m hurdles heat and Joseph shaved another 0.01 from that mark in the final, winning in 7.44 to move to equal ninth on the European indoor all-time list.
Reigning European indoor pole vault champion Angelica Moser cleared 4.50m to win her domestic title and combined events specialists won the long jump titles. European heptathlon bronze medallist Annik Kalin leapt 6.52m in the women’s long jump while European decathlon silver medallist Simon Ehammer won the long jump with 7.98m.
Elsewhere, Pascal Mancini won the men's 60m title in a national record of 6.58 - improving the previous mark by 0.01 - and European U20 champion Audrey Werro, 18, won the 800m title in 2:02.87 ahead of Rachel Pellaud (2:03.59) and Lore Hoffman (2:03.94).
Steven Mills for European Athletics