The President of the Sierra Leone Athletics Association (SLAA), Martin Momoh Bangura, has charged the athletes that were selected to represent the country in Ghana, to compete well and make Sierra Leone proud by securing qualifications for the Summer Olympics Games in Paris.

The technical officials of the Sierra Leone Athletics Association, on Wednesday, 6th March, 2024, presented twelve athletes selected for the 13th African Games in Ghana at their Wellington Street Office in Freetown, in a programme chaired by the association’s Secretary General, Momoh Morie.

The Technical Director, Harold T. Palmer, who led the presentation expressed gratitude to the athletes for their dedication during the extensive four-week training process, explaining the selection process and encouraged those not selected to remain resilient and continue training for future events and competitions.

‘We are satisfied with your performance and believe that each and every one of you is qualified to represent the nation, but because of the limited quota given to us and lack of valid documents prevented some of you to be part of this trip. Be rest assured there are two more competitions this year,’ he noted.

Addressing the athletes, SLAA President Martin Momoh Bangura reminded them that the entire nation was solidly behind them, thanking the government of Sierra Leone for taking up the onus to sponsor this particular Games.

“If we had athletes here today is because the government supported us in our past Boxing Day sports of which we are so grateful. We want to say thank you to the government of Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Authority for that support and we look forward to their continued support in promoting athletics,’ he expressed.

He admonished the athletes to know their roles and responsibilities, stating that as ambassador for Sierra Leone, they are going there not on their own, but they are going to represent the green, white and blue.

‘Considering the challenges around us that should not stop you to go and do your best go there and prove that you are a representative of a whole country and don’t forget again the competition is not just within the track, it’s also amongst us as disciplines. We are going with about 16 disciplines and each discipline wants to showcase the talents that they have groomed up to this point,’ the President stated.

He further disclosed that the African Games is the last games for qualifications for the Olympics especially for those of them who are under the Olympic Solidarity scholarship.

‘This is another opportunity for you; you can go there and make your qualifications easy and also make Sierra Leone proud so please, please I want to talk to you all, go there and make us proud.’

He assured those who were not part of this team that they were very much part of the SLAA, adding that they were not out because they were not good, adding, it is because of the quota allocated to them.

‘We are looking forward to having a bigger quota on the way forward, but that depends on the performance of this team going out to the All African Games. The better you perform, the more space you create for others coming so please go there with all your heart, go there with all your mind, go there with all your strength to defend the green, white and blue under the Sierra Leone Athletics Association. We want to assure you of our continuous support, we continue to pray for you and we continue to give you the support morally that you bring laurel for us after the competition,’ Bangura reminded them.

He thanked his executive for the hectic job done in organising the training, adding that it was not the end of it, there are so many competitions coming in front of them.

‘Like the Technical Director said, just after this competition we are looking forward to the division two competition in Benin and just after that in June, we are looking forward to the African Championship so these are all competitions lined up for us so please don’t forget to go there to compete and make sure you reserve your mind for further competitions not just the end of it. We want to showcase that the SLAA is on a different trajectory now we want to make sure that everything we do is in the right direction,’ the SLAA President affirmed.

The selected male athletes are Abubakarr Conteh (10,000m & 5,000m), Kalie Sesay (1,500m & 800m), Lawrence Fidal Sesay (100m & 200m), Derek Kargbo (400m & 200m), Mohamed B. Bah (400m & 200m) and Abubakarr Sesay (400m & 200m)

The female athletes include Jane Kargbo (1,500m & 800m), Theresa Kargbo (10,000m & 5,000m), Georgiana Sesay (200m & 400m), Marie Bangura (200m & 400m), Aminata B. Kamara (200m & 100m) and Hajsatu Sahid Kamara (100m).