While the Paris Olympics captivate audiences with displays of power and skill across various events, Team Gambia has not yet achieved significant victories. Three athletes were unable to qualify for the next stage at the global competition, and three others made early departures.
After an early departure of three athletes, Swimmer Ousman Jobe, who competed in the 50m freestyle event, was the most recent to be eliminated from the games.
Both of his colleagues, Judoka Faye Njie, who the Spaniard defeated on Monday, and Aminata Nia Maria Barrow, who narrowly missed a semi-final spot in her first Olympic appearance, experienced setbacks.
Hope remains for Team Gambia, with the spotlight on star athletes Mariama Gina Bass, anticipated to excel in the women’s 100 and 200-meter races, Ebrima Camara set to compete in the men’s 100-meter race, Sunu Jallow participating in the women’s 800-meter race, and Alasan Ann vying for the men’s 80 kg category in Taekwondo.
Proud to represent the Gambia, Jobe expressed satisfaction with his maiden Olympics appearance in Gambia even though he did not break his personal best.
“I feel good even though I did not clock my personal best, Jobe
finished 6th position in his Men Freestyle 50m category heats on Thursday, 1st August 2024, with a timing of 26.97 seconds.
The timing means he failed to progress to the next stage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Ousman, who was making his maiden Olympics appearance for The Gambia, described the Olympics as competitive.
He pointed out that he trained in Thailand with those he competed against in the heats, saying they did not beat him much in the heats.
Jobe, who has secured another scholarship to train in France ahead of the next Olympic Games, which will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, said he will train more and compete in the coming competitions to ensure he does better during the next Olympics.
Jobe qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in accordance with the Paris 2024 Swimming Qualification Criteria under Universality Places and because he is among the highest-ranked athlete(s), based on the World Aquatics Points Table (2024 edition).
The swimmer training at the Than Yapura Training Centre in Thailand participated in the PTT Thailand Swimming Championships (25m pool) organized by Swim Meets Thailand before the Olympics.
He participated in 6 events: 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 50m breaststroke, and 100m individual medley (IM).
During his participation at the Championships, Ousman made history by being the first Gambian swimmer to compete in 100m butterfly and 100 IM. By doing so, Ousman set two national records, one in the 100m butterfly and the other in 100 IM.
Ousman also set four new personal bests in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, and 50m butterfly.
