IAAF World Athletics Championships | Doha 2019
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images
As I write this recap, I’m flying somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. My screen hasn’t worked the whole flight (thanks American Airlines/British Airways), and so, I’m taking the time to get started on this post.
Over 12 months of training and racing was put to an end with one final relay at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar. While our 4x100m relay didn’t achieve what we set out to do, I feel the team learned and grew as a whole. This has been a roller coaster of a season. I started pretty strong, almost equalling my PB in the 100m and was interrupted by nagging injuries throughout. The injures were just enough to interrupt training and racing sporadically, and really highlighted the benefits of staying on top of rest and rehab.
I’m going to take a step back and give my 2019 World Championship experience, and then give my season reflection at the end. Feel free to jump around with this one, as I tried my best to section it up as tidy as possible.
Travel
Travel days are never my favorite. Living near a major airport in Boston, it was rare to get a direct flight. Now that I live in Syracuse, not only do I not get a direct flight, I also have a lot more connections and layovers to deal with. This just means there’s more time for delays, cancellations, and missed flights to occur. Very annoying, but something I just have to deal with for now.
I flew with American Airlines/British Airways for the first half of the trip and was annoyed by much of it. I won’t start nit-picking here, but let’s just say American is my least favorite airline (as someone who has only flown Economy). I would never recommend it.
On the other hand, Qatar Airways was amazing. The flight attendants were extremely helpful and courteous, the food was delicious, and the seats were spacious. I had heard good things and my experience really lived up to the rumors.
The most memorable travel anecdote I can share about the trip was the taxi ride from the airport to our hotel in Doha. Our taxi driver had no idea where he was going and seemed like he was using Google Maps for the first time. At one point in the ride, we made the same loop down the same ride three times before we stepped in and just directed him ourselves. Looking back on it now, it’s pretty hilarious how confused he was. I wonder just how many times he would have driven in circles before just giving up?
The Championship Experience
Overall, this had to be one of the best track meet experiences I’ve had in the five-ish years I’ve competed internationally.
While a lot of people seemed hyper-focused on the size of the crowd during the Championships, I couldn’t help but focus on the positives. The meet was well-run, the warm-up areas and restrooms were kept exceptionally clean (when compared to other track meets), and the addition of the light show for the finals made this experience especially memorable. I loved every second of it.
I was in Doha for a full two weeks and most of that time was spent practicing for the relay. The Ghana Athletics Association hadn’t been given any resources or support to host a relay camp between The African Games and The World Championships, and so, we had to make do with what little time we had once again. On top of that, we were told that the Ghana Ministry of Youth and Sports had decided not to give us per diem.
Here’s a quick break down on what per diem is and why it’s so important to us ghanaian athletes.
When you go to meets, you obviously miss out on any work you could be doing at home to make money. Per diem doesn’t cover every single cent you miss out on, but it does help offset the loss of not working while we’re away for camp or competition. Not every country gives their athletes per diem, but considering some countries have programs in place to support athletes during the whole year, per diem probably becomes superfluous.
As a Ghanaian athlete, I’m not aided financially, and so I work a few jobs to pay for everyday things like housing and food, as well as pay for running expenses like travel and meet accommodation. This might come as a surprise for a lot of you, but I have to cover the cost of the majority of the meets I go to. Ghana only covers the bigger championship events that require the whole team to be in attendance.
Hearing that we weren’t getting per diem was a pretty big blow. I missed two weeks of work and now that I’m back home, I’m scrambling to pick up work to try and cover the loss, which means less time I can focus on recovering for this next bis Olympic year.
That was probably the worst part of the trip. At this point, I highly doubt I’ll ever see that support and that hurts at times. I love competing and running for Ghana. Representing the country and the people is on the world stage gives me a tremendous sense of pride and joy. But, things like this always make it difficult to convince myself that all this sacrifice and struggle is worth it. But you always find a way. You find that strength from your loved ones and just keep chugging along.
As for the race itself: the relay went just OK. We ran a season’s best time, but we knew we could have done much better. I walked off the track knowing we had could have done better, but at that point, there's nothing you can do. The race has been run and the results are what they are.
My 2019 Season Reflections
The competition season is over and there’s room to grow, both individually and as a team. This year I really want to improve my strength and rehab routines. This past year I focused a lot on nutrition and I feel I finally have a good idea of what keeps my body fueled, strong, and healthy. Now, I need to get a good handle on keeping my body balanced and strong enough to handle the intense workouts and competitions that are to come.
The 2020 year will probably be my most important year for track and field. At this point, I feel as if this will be my last year running, and I want to end things on a high. I want to be in Tokyo at the Olympics. I want my mom to see me run in that Olympic stadium and represent the country we both love so dearly. I want to experience Japan at its finest and soak in the culture as I do what I love. 2020 is going to be amazing. I’ll make sure of it.
I want to take this moment to give a huge thanks to all my friends and family who have supported me through this tough season. Somehow, this year I’ve really felt the love and encouragement, and it has truly helped me in my lowest moments.
I also want to remind any and everyone that I’m always open to financial help. The road to the Olympics is not an easy one and I want to do my best to ensure I’ve put myself in the best position I can for this Olympic journey. I have no sponsors and work to support myself, so every cent helps. I don’t have much to give in return other than running well, but if you ever want a signed picture or something, I’d be more than happy to send one your way, just let me know. You can donate directly to my PayPal here. I’ve also got a Patreon, if you prefer to help that way.
See you all in 3 weeks for Pre-Season Training!
