Former and current athletes of Sierra Leone create national sports development group

A group of former and current Sierra Leonean Track and Field athletes have come together to form a national sports development organization to aid the national sports apparatus of Sierra Leone in elevating standards and developing the sport of athletics at the very basic grassroots to the most elite level.  (Photo: Current national 100 meters record holder Gibrilla ‘Pato’ Bangura (L) and retired former national and Inter-secondary schools 100 meters Champion Mr. Haroun Korjie(R))

The group aptly named Sierra Leone Athletics Coalition has put together an Interim Executive that is led by Olympian and former National and Inter-Secondary Schools 100 meters Champion Mr. Haroun Korjie of London, England (in Photo above(R)) who is the Executive Director of the organization.

The Interim Executive is a true representation of a cross section of Sierra Leone’s most accomplished Athletes who felt the need to step in to aid in the development of the sport of Athletics to realize Sierra Leone’s true potential in the International arena.

Sierra Leone as a nation has produced very talented and accomplished international athletes that have gone on to achieve great things at the global stage. Athletes like World Champion Heptathlon Gold Medalist Eunice Barber of France, Former 100 meters National record holder, Sanusi Turay of the Silver medal winning national Team at the 1991 World University Games in Sheffield, England, Felix Sandy the legendary quarter miler and Olympian, Abdul Mansaray a national hero and Olympian to name but a few in a long list of many accomplished athletes from the small west African nation.

Adding to that list is also a set of athletes competing for other nations like the USA who are of Sierra Leonean descent like Jeneba Tarmoh a 200 and 100 meters Sprinter at Texas A&M University who recently represented the US in the 200 meters at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu South Korea and US World Indoor Triple Jump Gold Medalist Will Claye of the USA.

The list outlined above is a testament of the country’s true potential in producing world class athletes and it is with this in mind that a crop of well meaning former athletes have come together to help where they can and especially focus on developing a conveyor belt of national talents from the grassroots that will take athletics to a new level.

The Executive lists reads as follows:

• Executive Director: Mr. Haroun Korjie (1992/96 Olympian, Former National and Secondary School 100 meters Champion and member of the Silver Medal winning national 4X 100 meters team at the 1991 All African Games in Egypt)
• Deputy Director and Head of Admin: Mr. Aiah Yambasu (Former National, Secondary Schools & University 100 meters Champion)
• Chief Financial Officer: Mr. Modupeh Jonah (Bronze Medalist in the 3000 meters Steeplechase at the Goodwill Games in Kuwait and former national and collegiate champion in the 800, 1500, 5000 and 3000 meters Steeplechase)
• Senior Development Officer: Mr. Andrew Barrie, (Former University 100 meters Champion and member of the Sierra Leone team to the World University Games in Sheffield England)
• Deputy Development Officer: Mr. Tamba Kortequee, (National Long and Triple Jump Champion, member of the Sierra Leone national team to the ECOWAS Games and World University Games in Beijing China )
• Education Director: Dr. A Bakarr Kanu (Former University 800 meters Champion)
• Media and Public Relations officer: Mr. Leslie Koroma (Former University 100 meters Champion and Member of the Sierra Leone team to the World University Games in Sheffield England and Buffalo New York USA)
• Deputy Education Director: Mr. Amadu Kamara (1996 Olympian and former National Cross Country Champion)
• Technical Director: Mr. Prince Duwai (1984 Olympian and national 100 meters champion)
• Deputy Technical Director: Mr. Abdul Mansaray (1984 & 88 Olympian and national 100/200 Meters Champion)
• Senior Events Coordinator: Mr. Desmond Finney (Collegiate 200 meters Champion and member of Sierra Leone’s national team to the World University Games in Sheffield, England)
• Deputy Events Coordinator: Mr. McCollins Jones (National Athlete)

The organization is officially registered as a Non-profit organization in the USA and registrations in other countries of our global memberships are pending.

If you have any interest in this organization and would like to support its work or become a member of it, please forward all inquiries, comments, or compliments to info@slathletics.org.

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