The Gambia’s interest at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games is over after sprinters Gina Bass and Adama Jammeh missed out on a place in the semifinals of the 200 metres yesterday.
African female bronze medalist, Bass, finished fifth in round one of her event with a time of 23.43 seconds on Monday morning. His compatriot Adama also finished in fifth with a timing of 20.55. With only the top two assured of a place in the semifinals, the duo now joined swimmer Pap Jonga and Judoka Faye Alex Njie to exit in the first hurdle of the Games.
Miss Bass, the Gambia’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony, is the first female athlete to represent the Gambia in the Olympic Games with standard qualification.
The 21-year-old athlete who holds the new national record of 23.14 seconds in the 200 meters had a good start but succumbed to former African champion Nigerian Blessing Okacbare in the final stages of the race.
“I wanted to run my best performance but I could not realise my dream. The lack of competition since we came from the African championship in June in South Africa partly contributed to my performance,” Gina Bass reacted.
Head Coach Mariama Sallah Saine said Gina’s performance was encouraging. “It was a good performance based on her experience. We are hoping to see her coming to her best performance ahead of next year’s Islamic Games in Baku and the 2017 World Athletics Championship in London where she has already qualified to compete in,” she added.
Story Source: Namory Trawally in Rio, Brazil
