Saturday 9 September 2012 has recorded a successful second annual marathon run for Besse village in the Foni Brefet, West Coast Region.
The various races in the competition took off from Bullock Village to the finishing point in Besse Village at distances of 7km, 6km and 5km of the various categories ranging from the men senior athletes to the girls U-15 and the academic children.
The seniors ran for the 7-kilometer title, the U-15 girls went for the 6-km while the children battled for the 5-km.
Ismaila Beyai took first position in the senior men’s competition, seconded by Lamin Sonko, and George Mendy grabbed the third position.
Aja Jobe grabbed the first position in the girls’ competition; Anna Badgie took second while Adama Gassama hit the third position.
In the academics category, Alassan Colley took first, Billal Sabally second, Abdoulie Jallow third and Omar Touray fourth.
First to third position winners were given conciliation prizes in both the men senior athletes category and the U-15 girls, while for the academic category up to the fourth position were all handed conciliations at the end of the marathon.
Two trophies were given to both the senior athletes and the U-15 girls that took first positions. The senior athletes’ trophy was named after the academic manager’s grandfather, Lamin Badgie, while the U-15 girls’ trophy was named after the academic manager’s newly born baby girl, Isatou Badgie.
Delivering his remarks at the end of the event, the Academic Manager, Lamin Badgie, said: “I feel so much glad because this marathon helps me to know the people of the village more, and l have seen that now even the villagers are able to picture the significance of this sport and being together as one.”
Stating the improvement compared with last year’s competition, Badgie said that it was done broadly as fun, adding that with more commitment from the elders and the youth it was done perfectly this year.
“Let the youths be proud of their talents and work much harder to improve more in the future and let the village work together to help their children to take sport seriously,” Badgie said.
Other speakers on the occasion included winners of the various categories, such as Ismaila Beyai and Alassan Colley, who thanked the academic manager and the parents for their support and however appealed for support from the public to achieve their dreams as champions in the future.
