Sierra Leone Olympic hopeful Hafsatu Kamara has said that she is very excited to make her first Olympics appearance in Rio on Friday 12th August 2016 at the Olympic Stadium.
The Sierra Leonean U.S based sprinter expressed her delight for being called up to represent the country in this year’s Olympics which she said is a big boost to her athletics career.
“This is the biggest dream every athlete wishes to achieve in her career because the Olympics is the highest of all sporting events where every nation meets to celebrate the world.”
As an athlete representing my country in the Olympics gives me the opportunity to show the world where I came from and what I can do as a Sierra Leonean”.
She admitted that she has been training very hard and she can’t wait to sprint in her green, white and blue colors in front of the rousing spectators in the Olympics Stadium.
According to Kamara who’s personal best is 11.61, her goal is to be the first Sierra Leonean to win medal in a major competition and to rewrite the country’s athletic history with her name.
“I want to see the flag of Sierra Leone raised high and the national anthem played here in Rio. But that is a major challenge to conquer at this particular moment because the Olympic is full of world class sprinters”.
Kamara was born in Virginia, USA but she was raised by her grandparents in Sierra Leone for few years before she returned to USA.
She is the current record holder as the fastest Sierra Leonean female 100m sprinter, clocking in at 11.78, breaking the previous 11.87 record.
She has already represented Sierra Leone in several International sporting events, including the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, the 2015 IAAF World Championship in Beijing, China, and most recently the African Championship in Durban South Africa.
By Magdalene S Konneh from Rio Brazil
Friday August 12, 2016