- Title: TOGO: West Africa's new athletic talents compete
- Date: 16th May 2011
- Summary: LOME, TOGO (MAY 15, 2011) (REUTERS) BANNER READING "ATHLETISME-19 eme TOURNOI DE LA SOLIDARITE" - "ATHLETICS-19TH EDITION OF THE SOLIDARITY COMPETITION" START OF RACE VARIOUS OF WOMEN RELAY RACE SPECTATORS CHEERING TWO FEMALE ATHLETES FROM MALI EMBRACING AFTER RACE DJENEBOU DANTE, WINNER OF THE RACE FROM MALI (SOUNDBITE) (French) SANDRINE KAGNI, ATHLETE FROM TOGO SAYING: "The athletes from Mali and Burkina Faso are very strong on sprints, so we will have to do something about that. We can see that Togo is very strong in the long distance races but we stalled a bit when it came to the sprints. But I think that we have the potential here." MORE OF MALI'S FEMALE ATHLETES AFTER A RACE (SOUNDBITE) (French) DJENEBOU DANTE, ATHLETE FROM MALI SAYING: "I participated in four categories, so I had to run in all four categories. My objective before I ran was that I had to win in all the categories." FEMALES ATHLETES RECEIVING MEDALS MALE ATHLETES RUNNING IN RACE SPECTATORS CHEERING MORE OF RACE MORE OF SPECTATORS CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (French) ALI MOUSSA, ATHLETE FROM NIGER SAYING: "West Africa has good athletes. But they are not trained. There is a lack of athletics training centers. If indeed the authorities could take care of that in Africa, there would be more high performing athletes." END OF RACE (SOUNDBITE) (French) THEOPHILE SAWADOGO, BURKINA FASO'S TEAM COACH SAYING: "Athletics is a long term investment and for the pride of a country, you only need one athlete to have a great performance at the world level, and the country is automatically brought into the forefront. But unfortunately, because football attracts a lot more people, it's good for the politicians and good for publicity, that is the mistake that is made because athletics have been pushed aside. But it's the number one event at the Olympics." FEMALE ATHLETE THROWING A DISC VARIOUS OF FEMALE ATHLETE DOING THE LONG JUMP (SOUNDBITE) (French) KODJOVI RAPHAEL AGOPOME, MEMBER, INTERNATIONAL ATHLETIC FEDERATION SAYING: "There is good work being done on the ground in several countries and we are hopeful that as this tournament progresses, we will be able to detect and pick up and coming athletes that will take over the current crop of athletes on the continent today." ATHLETE DOING A HIGH JUMP
- Embargoed: 31st May 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Togo, Togo
- Country: Togo
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA7MLRGS6V6Z5EZSQU77VZZUCCM
- Story Text: Four hundred athletes from several west African countries participated in an athletics meet aimed at improving talent in the region and giving newcomers exposure to wider competition.
Malian athletes dominated at the 19th annual Solidarity and Integration Athletics Championships, held from Friday 13 to Sunday May 15 in Lome, Togo.
The tournament faces off new athletic talents from across west Africa against each other in an effort to improve their performance and make the region a source of champions in the sport.
The event has become a favourite on the sports calendar for athletes in West Africa and takes place on a rotational basis in several countries in the region. Last year the tournament took place in Niamey, Niger.
This year's competition saw more than 400 athletes from Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Togo participating in several athletics categories.
Sandrine Kagni from Togo said competing on a larger scale with other athletes helps teams up their game.
"The athletes from Mali and Burkina Faso are very strong on sprints, so we will have to do something about that. We can see that Togo is very strong in the long distance races but we stalled a bit when it came to the sprints. But I think that we have the potential here," she said.
Mali won the tournament overall with 460 points. Malian favorite, Djenebou Dante took home four medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and 1600 meters.
"I participated in four categories, so I had to run in all four categories. My objective before I ran was that I had to win in all the categories," said Dante.
The tournament is also an opportunity for amateur athletes to gain exposure.
Ali Moussa, an athlete from Niger says many talented athletes are often not given the opportunity to train at competitive levels.
"West Africa has good athletes. But they are not trained. There is a lack of athletics training centers. If indeed the authorities could take care of that in Africa, there would be more high performing athletes," said Moussa.
"Athletics is a long term investment and for the pride of a country, you only need one athlete to have a great performance at the world level, and the country is automatically brought into the forefront. But unfortunately, because football attracts a lot more people, it's good for the politicians and good for publicity, that is the mistake that is made because athletics have been pushed aside. But it's the number one event at the Olympics," Burkina Faso's team coach, Theophile Sawadogo said.
Kodjovi Raphael Agopome, a member of the International Athletic Federation called on African leaders to invest more in their athletes.
"There is good work being done on the ground in several countries and we are hopeful that as this tournament progresses, we will be able to detect and pick up and coming athletes that will take over the current crop of athletes on the continent today," he said.
The final ranking saw Burkina Faso in second place after Mali with 454 points. Hosts Togo were in third place with 428 points, Benin in fourth place with 247 points and in fifth place was Niger with 147 points. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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