Martial Mbandjock
Encyclopedia
Martial Mbandjock is an a French sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

. His personal best time is 10.06 seconds, achieved in July 2008 in Albi.

He won the bronze medal in the 100 m at the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships
2007 European Athletics U23 Championships
The 6th European Athletics U23 Championships was held between 12 and 15 July 2007 in the Gyulai István Athletic Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary.- Men :- Women :-Medal table:-References:General*-External links:**...

 and reached the quarterfinals at the 2007 World Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...

 later that year. He got to the semifinals at the 2008 World Indoor Championships
2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships - Men's 60 metres
-Medalists:-Heats:-Semifinals:-Final:...

 and the 2008 Olympic Games
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 metres
The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.-Qualification:Each National Olympic Committee was able to enter up to three entrants providing they had met the A standard in the qualifying period...

. He won his first national title at the outdoor French championships, running a personal best of 10.06 seconds in the 100 m, helped by good running conditions with a 1.7 m/s tailwind
Wind assistance
Wind assistance is a term in track and field, which refers to the wind level during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather which can affect sport....

.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he competed at the 100 metres sprint and placed second in his heat behind Richard Thompson
Richard Thompson (athlete)
Richard "Torpedo" Thompson is a sprinter from Cascade, Trinidad and Tobago who specializes in the 100 metres. He was the silver medalist in the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, running a personal best of 9.89 seconds....

 in a time of 10.26 seconds. He qualified for the second round in which he improved his time to 10.16 seconds, finishing third behind Thompson and Tyson Gay
Tyson Gay
Tyson Gay is an American track and field sprinter. His primary events are the 100 meters and 200 meters. His personal bests establish him as the second fastest athlete in the 100 meters and the fifth fastest athlete in the history of the 200 meters, with times of 9.69 and...

, reaching the semi finals. There he was unable to achieve his final spot as he finished in 8th place in 10.18 seconds. Together with Yannick Lesourd
Yannick Lesourd
Yannick Lesourd is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for France.Lesourd represented France at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4x100 metres relay together with Martial Mbandjock, Manuel Reynaert and Samuel Coco-Viloin...

, Manuel Reynaert
Manuel Reynaert
Manuel Reynaert is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for France.Reynaert represented France at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4x100 metres relay together with Martial Mbandjock, Yannick Lesourd and Samuel Coco-Viloin...

 and Samuel Coco-Viloin
Samuel Coco-Viloin
Samuel Coco-Viloin is a track and field hurdler who competes internationally for France.Coco-Viloin represented France at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4x100 metres relay together with Martial Mbandjock, Manuel Reynaert and Yannick Lesourd...

 he also competed at the 4x100 metres relay. In their qualification heat they finished sixth in a time of 39.53 seconds, which meant elimination.

In the 2009 season, Mbandjock began with modest times between 10.20 and 10.30 seconds. He improved to 10.11 at a meeting in Nancy, France in June, achieving the A standard qualifying time for the 2009 World Championships
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....

 in Berlin later that year. Despite finishing out of the medals in fourth in the 100 m, he set a personal best of 20.67 seconds in the 200 m to take bronze at the 2009 European Team Championships
2009 European Team Championships
The first SPAR European Team Championships took place on 20 and 21 June 2009. The track and field athletics tournament run by European Athletics was the successor of the old European Cup competition which was held annually until 2008...

. He won his first major gold shortly after with a win in the 100 m at the 2009 Mediterranean Games
Athletics at the 2009 Mediterranean Games
At the 2009 Mediterranean Games, the athletics events were held in Pescara, Italy from 30 June to 3 July.-Medal summary:-Men:-Women:-Disability athletics:-Games records:-Medal table:Key:-Participating nations:...

.
He competed in three events at the 2009 World Championships: he finished sixth in the 100 metres semi-finals
2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics were held at the Olympic Stadium on August 15 and August 16. The two main contenders for the event were the reigning World Champion Tyson Gay and Usain Bolt, the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder...

, the second best performance by a European after finalist Dwain Chambers
Dwain Chambers
Dwain Anthony Chambers is an English sprinter of Afro-Caribbean descent. He has won medals on the international stage numerous times and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of recorded athletics. His primary event is the 100 metres sprint, in which he has the second...

. Next came the 200 metres competition
2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 200 metres
The men's 200 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 18 and August 20.The race favourites were Tyson Gay and Usain Bolt. Gay entered the competition as the reigning world champion, championship record holder, and 200 m world leader with...

, where he recorded a personal best of 20.43 seconds in his semi-final for fifth place. He was eliminated at that stage, although he ran faster than compatriot David Alerte
David Alerte
David Alerte is a French sprinter who specializes in the 200 metres.At the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg he finished seventh in the 200 metres and won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay...

 who did reach the final via the other semi-final. His final competition of the championships was with France in the 4 x 100 metres relay
2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 4 x 100 metres relay
The men's 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics took place at the Olympic Stadium on August 21 and August 22. The two main contenders for the event were the reigning World Champions, the United States, and the reigning Olympic Champions, Jamaica...

. The team reached the final and placed in eighth.

At the 2010 European Athletics Championships, Mbandjock had a significant breakthrough, winning bronze medals in both the 100 m and 200 m, as well as a gold in the relay – although his achievements were somewhat overshadowed by his compatriot Christophe Lemaitre
Christophe Lemaitre
Christophe Lemaitre is a French sprinter, who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. He is the French 100 m and 200 m record holder with a time of 9.92 seconds and 19.80 seconds as well as being the first caucasian to break the 10-second barrier in an officially timed event.At...

, who won all three races.

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