Columba Blango

Columba Blango (born 6 July 1992) is a British parasports runner, who came third at the 400 metres T20 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. He won the 400 metres T20 event at the 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships, and the 200 metres T20 event at the 2021 British Grand Prix.

Personal life Blango is from East Dulwich, London. His father of the same name competed for Sierra Leone in decathlon at the 1980 Summer Olympics, and was later Mayor of Southwark. As a youngster, Blango developed blood clots on his brain.

Career Blango competes in T20 classification events. At the 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships, Blango won the 400 metres T20 event in a European record time of 47.90 seconds. He had also broken the European record in the heats of the event by setting a time of 48.54 seconds.

In July 2021, Blango was selected for the 400 metres T20 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics; it was his first Paralympic Games appearance. In 2022, Blango won the T20 400m event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix event in Dubai.