Dakar, Capital of Senegal, will host the West African Championships today and tomorrow. Eight countries will be represented: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Senegal.
Some athletes who do not represent West African nations but train at the Training Centre in Dakar will also take part in the competition with notably Eric Milazar (400m) Arnaud Casquette and Jonathan Chimier (Long Jump) of Mauritius.
Senegal will take this opportunity as a general rehearsal for the bigger international events for its athletes and although Amy Mbacké Thiam, Tacko Diouf (currently in Europe) and Kene Ndoye (injured) will not be present, the host country will have a strong line-up.
Aïda Diop (200m), Fatou Binetou Fall (400m), Aminata Diouf (200m) et mainly Ndiss Kaba Badji (Long Jump) will be the local crowd’s favourites.
Events included in the programme: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, 110m Hurdles, 100m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Javelin Throw, High Jump, 4x100m and 4x400m.
Oumar Ba for the IAAF
