Jama Aden remembers listening intently as one of the national coaches told him about a 16 year old boy who had shown promise in a competition in the outer regions of Sudan - the largest country on the African continent.
Aden, who competed for Somalia at the 1984 Olympics and who has sinced coached in a number of Arabic countries, knew that athletes develop at different rates and therefore agreed to make the three day trek from Khartoum to meet this middle distance running prodigy.
Less than a year later this same boy, Abdalla El Gadir, arrived in Sherbrooke with a new personal best of 1:50.74 and a legitimate chance to win a medal at the World Youth Championships.
“It took us three days to get there. The roads are not that good,” Aden, now the National Coach of the Sudanese team, remembers, “We were very happy to meet Abdalla. We brought him to Khartoum because he improved and after seven months he has run 1:50.74. He is a fighter - a very good finisher. He has a very good future in the 1500m. In the future he will be a world class miler.”
Since November 2001 when Aden first arrived in Sudan he set about organising the coaching structure to best lay the foundation for a national program. And there is vast evidence that things are working. At this year’s East African Youth Championships held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, it was Sudan and not Kenya, Ethiopia or Tanzania that topped the medal table with 11 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals.
In addition to Abdalla El Gadir the program boasts an exceptional 400m runner in Negm Eldin Ali who stunned everyone present by winning the East African Youth Championships in 46.32 seconds.
“I haven’t competed against these athletes but I have read about them on the internet,” Ali says through an interpreter. “It was always the target from January of this year to run here in Sherbrooke. I went to South Africa last year and ran 47.7 there and so I knew I had a chance to do something big. So I concentrated this year and after the 46.32 in Ethiopia I realised I can run with the best.”
Ali finished off a training session Sunday night by running 200m flat out. Aden held up the stopwatch to reveal his prodigy had run 20.7 seconds. Even with the inaccuracy of a handheld stopwatch this would be faster than his personal best time in competition (21.10 seconds). Aden immediately halted the session and sent the youngster off for a cool down jog.
“I feel good I would like to get a big personal best and I would also like to get a medal,” Ali said afterwards. “I would really like to have the gold even though I believe the Jamaican (Usain Bolt) is in the race.”
The training facilities in Sudan are crude. There is one tartan track and two dirt tracks on which the 28 regional coaches under Aden’s tutelage organise practice. Aden splits his time between the three venues usually standing in the middle of the track with a megaphone shouting instructions to the estimated 300 athletes that attend each session.
“The facilites are not that good. We go to South Africa in the winter and then we go to camp in Sheffield, England for three months. I am based in Sheffield. This is to learn about competitions and training,.” Aden explains.
As he watches the athletes training in Sherbrooke Aden understand perfectly well the level of competition expected when the championships open on Wednesday. Sudan, he feels, can win a pair of medals and that would be further reason for optimism. His optimism is shared amongst the athletes
“I know about the Saudi guy (Mohammed Al-Salhi) and I know the British guy (Michael Rimmer) who ran 1:50.00. And of course I know about the Kenyans, I believe the race will be between the four of us. I would like to get a medal but also I want to get experience. I love to finish. I believe I can definitely run 1:47 or 1:48!”
