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Stuart Weir
Guest
Cindy Sember retires
Earlier this summer, Cindy Sember (née Ofili) announced her retirement from elite track at 32. She is the younger sister of Tiffany, with whom she competed for Britain in sprint hurdles, the country of her mother’s birth. The highlight of Cindy’s career came at the 2016 Olympics, when she (and her sister) reached the final in Rio. She was fourth in 12.63, two hundredths of a second off the bronze medal. What made that final even more special was having her sister in the race with her. Tiff was seventh.
Cindy Sember in Rio, 2016, photo by Getty for British Athletics
She told me recently: “Yeah, that’s been something over the years I’ve been thinking about. I was so close, but I do believe that God had a plan. I just don’t put my worth in the result. So whether or not I did get the medal or I didn’t get the medal, it doesn’t make me any better or worse of a person. And the fact that I was able to get as close as I did, it shows me that I was one of the best and I have been able to compete against the best. So I don’t look at it as like, ‘I wish I had done better’. Yes, it would be nice to have a medal. However, I do believe I’ve done some spectacular things that I can look back on and be proud of.”
Cindy Sember, photo by British Athletics
“It was such an amazing experience to have my sister in the final with me. Honestly, I’m so grateful that I had her. The fact that we’ve been able not only to go to Olympics, but to make a final together was really, really amazing. And, you know, she’s been somebody I’ve looked up to my whole life as she’s 6 1/2 years older. And just being in that final, knowing that I was running with the girl that I’ve always wanted to be like – my sister – was just such a cool experience. And I think they also got a little film clip of us praying together, spending time together. So it was just something that’s going to be so memorable for me and something we can pass on to our children. And I do think I’ll live with that memory forever”.
Cindy Sember, 100m hurdles, Commonwealth Games, photo by Scottish Athletics
I wondered how you deal with having your sister as an opponent: “We warmed up together. We trained separately and had different coaches, but I still prepared with her, warmed up with her, and did everything. So it was nice. We were still like in our own zones. We both wanted to do our own thing, but we knew that, no matter what, we were still sisters. So we had a competitive nature, but we also still remembered that it was more than sport. So I think that helped us keep it kind of chilled”.
Cindy Sember, photo by British Athletics
Equally, she admitted: “There were times where it got a little heated where I’m like, ‘I’m gonna beat you’. She’s like, ‘I’m gonna beat you’. But, you know, it was always a good spirit. And I think breaking her national record was pretty cool. Obviously she might have felt differently about it, but she showed she was really happy we kept it in the family. And that it’s not like we were in the same sport but doing other events. Made it extra special. Being in the same event, we could literally do sessions next to each other. She can give me advice; I can give her advice. I didn’t want to see her fail. I still wanted her to thrive. I just wanted to run faster! So I think it was just one of those things where we could help each other and still be friends, because we were so literally doing the same thing. So that was a lot of fun”.
Another great moment that the sisters shared was the European Indoors in 2021 when Nadine Visser won from Cindy (7.89), with Tiffany taking bronze. She commented at the time: “It’s absolutely amazing. I’m so happy to be here and I’m so happy that I could do it alongside my sister. We’ve both been through a lot, so it’s amazing to be medalling”.
TORUN, POLAND – MARCH 07: Bronze medalist Tiffany Porter of Great Britain (R) and silver medalist Cynthia Sember of Great Britain (L) celebrate following the Women’s 60 Meters Hurdles final during the second session on Day 3 of the European Athletics Indoor Championships at Arena Torun on March 07, 2021 in Torun, Poland. Sporting stadiums around Poland remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, as government social-distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues, so games are played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for European Athletics)
Another race that Cindy recalls as a highlight was the bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games: “That was my first outdoor medal. And it was a long time coming for me. And I was just really, really grateful to medal outdoors. But also it was just such a great environment being in Birmingham and just being in front of a home crowd. It was amazing to have that medal and do it in such a spectacular way. And they sang Happy Birthday to me that weekend. So it was such a cool, cool moment”.
Cindy Sember, bronze, 100 m hurdles, photo by Stuart Weir
Cindy also had more than her fair share of injuries, an Achilles rupture in 2017 just after the Olympics, then knee problems, arthritis, and a knee that blew up in 2023, stopping her from competing in the Budapest World Championships the way she wanted to. She said that the most frustrating thing about injuries is that only the athlete knows what is happening: “People might see a race and say, ‘oh, she’s not running well’, but there was so much happening behind the scenes that I was battling. That was very difficult to deal with at the time. But I think I held my own, and I stayed composed, and I still did really well. People don’t know this, but in 2023 I was not on the track very often. I was on a bike most of the year and I still ran 12.83 at Worlds”.
Cindy Sember, bronze medalist at 100m hurdles, photo by Stuart Weir
In terms of life lessons from a career in track, she talked about discipline, resilience and grit, adding “the biggest lesson was to take advantage of every opportunity you have – the experiences traveling everywhere, going to different places. You don’t know what you have until you’re done with it”.
Now her time is taken up with online fitness coaching, helping women to get in shape, lose fat and build muscle; strength coaching, public speaking, sharing her experiences with other people, content creation, a podcast.
Cindy Sember, photo by Getty Images for British Athletics