Sprinter Gina Bass completed her events in Tokyo yesterday with another semifinal feat in her second Olympic Games.
This time in her favourite event, the 200 meters.
The track queen scored a stunning second place in her heat at time of 22.74 which gave her an automatic place in the semifinals where she took on the best of the world in this event. She clocked 22.67 in this semis falling just short of place in the final. Her performance capped the highest Gambia ever went in women’s sprint events. In 2012, in London, Swaebou Sanneh reached the semifinals in the men’s 100 meters. This year though male sprinter Ebrima Camara failed to progress beyond the heats, so did swimmer Ebrima Buor and judoka Faye Njie.
As Team Gambia head home, Gambians all over the world have expressed solidarity and gratitude to Gina and her compatriots at the games for their sterling representation of the country.
Team Gambia’s performance has also drawn attention to the need for attention to athletics which as opposed to football is grossly under funded by government.
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone