Dakar, June 24 (APS) – The new African 400-meter champion, the Senegalese Cheikh Tidiane Diouf, expressed his pride in having won this title in view of his course which he considers “very difficult” and strewn with difficulties. pitfalls, while waiting for a possible qualification for the next Olympic Games in Paris (July 26-August 11).
“I am very happy. It’s a pride for me to be African champion,” reacted the new African 400m champion, 29 years old, in an interview with the APS.
“Every year I beat my personal best. This is my second participation in the African Athletics Championships, the first time, I was injured and I withdrew from the semi-final,” he told APS.
The native of Touly, in the Thiès region (west), was crowned on Sunday in Douala, Cameroon, where the 23rd African Athletics Championships continue (June 21-26).
He ran the 400m in 45s 23, ahead of the Botswanan Lee Bhekempilo Eppie (45s39) and the Nigerian Samuel Ogazi (45s47).
Cheikh Tidiane Diouf, still a student, embraced athletics a little late in life. He thus obtained his first African medal five years after his debut in this discipline.
However, his participation in the African Athletics Championships was not easy, the fault of a toothache which was slow to calm down. This illness even almost kept him from the slopes.
“I had a very difficult journey. I fell ill the day I left Senegal for Cameroon. I was suffering from a toothache. And when I arrived in Douala, I couldn’t train properly. But I had to deal with it,” explained the Senegalese athlete.
“After training, I sometimes didn’t sleep at night. I even almost withdrew and then pulled myself together. My whole journey has been difficult. But I held on, and I am rewarded,” he added, not without pride.
His only regret is not having been able to achieve the minimums (45s) to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (July 26-August 11).
“Unfortunately, I was not able to achieve the minimums. But I am African champion, that’s a good thing, and I hope with this title to qualify for these ranking games,” he said.
An athlete who continues to improve
Author of a brilliant season last year, with several meetings won and personal records broken, Cheikh Tidiane Diouf continued the same momentum this year.
He finished in third place in the 400 meters during the African Games in Accra last March, thanks to a time of 45s 49, before taking first place (45”63), a few days later (April 13), at the Guyana meeting.
He also finished on the first step of the podium at the meeting in Martinique (France), on May 18, with a time of 45”03.
“The results are positive. I started the 400 m with a time of 51 s, and currently I can do 45 s. My goal is to beat my personal best in each competition,” concluded Cheikh Tidiane Diouf.
SK/BK/ASG
