By: Lamin Drammeh
Gambian athlete sensation Gina Bass has won a gold medal at the ongoing Islamic Games in Turkey.
The 27-year-old sprinter clocked an impressive timing of 22:63 seconds and made history for her country in the Women’s 200 meters race. She is the most accomplished runner from the Gambia to win a gold medal in two separate athletics championships.
In 2017, Ms. Bass, 22, became the first Gambian sprinter to claim a gold medal at the world international Athletics Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
In doing so, Ms. Bass edged out fellow athletes to finish first in the 100 meters in May of that year – thus establishing her status as a legend of the sport.
That gold medal success in Azerbaijan brought Ms. Bass’s total number of medals to two at the time (gold & silver), the highest number of individual awards registered by a Gambian athlete at any international championships.
She was a bronze medalist in the 200 meters race, which she achieved in Durban in 2016.
As the country’s flag bearer, she represented the Gambia in the 2016 summer Olympics games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
As a reward and testament to her hard work, perseverance, and tremendous tenacity, Ms. Bass was named the most outstanding female athlete of the year by the sports journalists association of The Gambia in 2016.
Gina recently returned from the World athletics championships in the United States and is the current national record holder of the women’s 100 & 200-meter events.
With many international athletics accolades, including two gold medal honors, Ms. Bass will undoubtedly go down in history as Gambia’s most decorated sprinter of all-time.
