By Kemoh Sesay
Osman Charlis of the Young Athletic Sport Club (YASC), has won the Freetown Marathon Sponsored by Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) in Collaboration with Freetown City Council.
Speaking to Politico after winning the 12 kilometer race Charlis said he wasn't surprised that he won and noted that "I have trained for it for the past few month so I deserve to win". He said he has also won the Makeni Marathon and represented Sierra Leone in Burkinafaso and Ivory Coast where he said he came third in the indoor competitions.
Charlis explained that in the beginning, he found the race difficult "because other long distance runners were also involved. He said...I thought it was going to be a close contest but when pulled ahead of them, I started considering myself a winner".
According to Freetown Mayor Franklyn Bode Gibson said the marathon helped identify a talent which "should now be celebrated so that the whole country will see him". He said the winner "will be given the utmost support to take him to next level".
The mayor said the marathon would now annual event and the Freetown City Council "will do its best to make it happen and be more attractive to the people out there to come and participate". He thanked the lead sponsor GTB and all other sponsors for their support.
The President of Sierra Leone Athletics Association Abdul Karim Sesay agreed that the marathon was "a platform to showcase talent especially that of long distance Athletes".
(C) Politico 29/04/14
