Léa Sprunger

Léa Sprunger (born 5 March 1990) is a Swiss former track and field athlete.^[4] Originally a heptathlete like her older sister Ellen, she began concentrating on the 200 metres and 400 metres in 2011, and then on the 400 metres hurdles from 2015. Her best times in the 400 m and 400 m hurdles of 50.52 s (2018) and 54.06 s (2019) are the Swiss records. She finished fifth in the 400 m hurdles final at the 2017 World Championships, and went on to win the gold medal in the 400 m hurdles at the 2018 European Championships.

Léa Sprunger

Léa Sprunger at the 2012 Athletissima
Personal information
Born	(1990-03-05) 5 March 1990 (age 35) Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland[1]
Home town	Gingins, VD[2]
Years active	2007–2021
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
Country	Switzerland
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	200 m, 400 m hurdles[3]
Coached by	Laurent Meuwly[1]
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Switzerland European Championships 2018 Berlin 400 m hurdles 2016 Amsterdam 400 m hurdles European Indoor Championships 2019 Glasgow 400 m

Career

Born in Nyon, Vaud, Sprunger competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's 200 m event and the 4 × 100 m relay. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she competed in the 400 m hurdles event and at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 400 m hurdles event and the 4 × 400 m relay.

At the 2016 European Championships she finished third in the 400 m hurdles race. She won this event two years later at the 2018 European Championships.

Her personal best in the 400 m hurdles is 54.06 s set in Doha on 4 October 2019, also representing a new national record.^[5] She also holds the national record in the 400 metres with 50.52 s (set in La-Chaux-de-Fonds on 1 July 2018).^[6] 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 on 24 August 2019).^[6]

Léa Sprunger retired from competitive athletics in September 2021.

International championships

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Switzerland
2007	World Youth Championships	Ostrava, Czech Republic	13th	Heptathlon (youth)	4878 pts
	European Youth Olympic Festival	Belgrade, Serbia	1st	4 × 100 m relay	46.17
2008	World Junior Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	10th	Heptathlon	5451 pts
2009	European Junior Championships	Novi Sad, Serbia	3rd	Heptathlon	5552 pts
2011	European U23 Championships	Ostrava, Czech Republic	16th	Heptathlon	4808 pts
	Universiade	Shenzhen, China	18th (sf)	200 m	24.17
			7th	4 × 100 m relay	44.65
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	13th (h)	4 × 100 m relay	44.04
2012	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	13th (sf)	200 m	23.49
			6th	4 × 100 m relay	43.61
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	30th (h)	200 m	23.27
			13th (h)	4 × 100 m relay	43.54
2013	European Indoor Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	17th (h)	400 m	54.45
	Universiade	Kazan, Russia	11th (sf)	200 m	23.80
			5th (h)	4 × 100 m relay	44.721
	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	12th (h)	4 × 100 m relay	43.21
	Jeux de la Francophonie	Nice, France	2nd	200 m	23.83
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	45.01
2014	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	3rd (B)	4 × 100 m relay	43.55
			5th	4 × 200 m relay	1:31.75
	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	9th (sf)	200 m	23.12
			4th (h)	4 × 100 m relay	42.982
2015	European Indoor Championships	Prague, Czech Republic	20th (h)	400 m	53.97
	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	8th	4 × 100 m relay	43.74
	World Championships	Beijing, China	13th (sf)	400 m hurdles	55.83
			13th (h)	4 × 100 m relay	43.38
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	3rd	400 m hurdles	55.41
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	25th (h)	400 m hurdles	56.58
2017	European Indoor Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	5th	400 m	53.08
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	5th	400 m hurdles	54.59
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	6th (h)	400 m	52.463
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	1st	400 m hurdles	54.33
2019	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st	400 m	51.61
			6th	4 × 400 m relay	3:33.72
	World Relays	Yokohama, Japan	7th	4 × 400 m relay	3:32.32
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	4th	400 m hurdles	54.06
			14th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:30.63
2021	European Indoor Championships	Toruń, Poland	10th (sf)	400 m	52.64
	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	11th (sf)	400 m hurdles	55.12
			12th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:25.90

¹Disqualified in the final

²Did not finish in the final

³Disqualified in the semifinals