By Morlai Kargbo in Birmingham
100 and 200 Meters runner Ibrahim Fastest Bangura, has lamented that the lack of adequate training infrastructures has been the cause for the poor performance of athletes in the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, West Midlands.
Bangura surpassed his previous record of 10.55 in the 100 he Alexander Stadium in Round One (1) Heat 8 of the Meters sprint race and set a personal best of 10.51” on Tuesday, 2nd July 2022. But his newly achieved feat was not enough to help him qualify for the second phase of the event, and Bangura attributed his failure to qualify to the less training infrastructures the country has.
“It’s a good start for me, cus’ for the past seven months I have not been able to run on the track as the Siaka Stevens Stadium has been closed for renovation and the last time I did run was on Boxing Day”, he explains.
Bangura continues: “All of my past training the last seven months have been on bare pitches (bumpy fields), it was not an easy journey to be here but thank God I’m able to compete and beat my previous record”.
Ibrahim Karim Bangura is competing in the Commonwealth Games for the first time in his career both in the 100 and 200 meters categories, but his earlier exploits in previous events had seen him earmarked to make a big impact in this year’s games, but his first show on the 100 meters track has ended in disappointment with he has echoed to be caused by the poor training facilities in the country.
“We have a big challenge; firstly, most of our competitors are in training camps, very big camps with well-equipped facilities that aid their development both on and off the track, but for us back home it’s the opposite. We are challenged with many issues from poor training facilities, no good diet before and after training, and a whole lot more”, he maintained.s
Ibrahim Fastest said because of all of the highlighted challenges, their (athletes) performances should be appreciated by Sierra Leoneans back home their respective numbers are a testatment of the potential they possess if only they have equal opportunities to their competitors.
“Our performances are exceptional when you consider the trials we go through. Indeed, I wasn’t thinking about making it this far, as I suffered a two-month injury before the games. Never thought I to be able to beat my previous record considering the challenges I face with the injury and other issues I encountered”, ended.
Meanwhile, in the other heat events, Julius Morie in Heat 8 of Round 1 finished seventh out of eight runners with a personal time record of 10.88”, while in the women’s category, Hafsatu Kamara clocked 11.80 seconds in Heat 6 of Round One (1) and finished the race in the fourth position. Jenifer Fatmata Bangura in Heat 7 finished the day with a personal best of 12.00.
Ibrahim Karim Bangura will again take to the track for the 200 meters heat at the Alexander Stadium on Thursday, 4th August 2022.
