AAM applauds Banda for World Championship drama
Athletics Association of Malawi (AAM) has applauded long-distance runner Stuart Banda for the drama he caused at the 2015 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China last week, saying the incident put Malawi on the international map.
Banda, who was the country’s sole representative at the event and was having his first-ever international race, made international headlines when he shot into the lead in the first two heats of the 5 000-metre race to open a 25-metre gap before tiring and quickly getting swallowed by the rest of the field in the fifth heat. He completed the race on 35th position.
The 24-year-old Moyale Barracks soldier’s melodramatic adventure left tongues wagging and international media organisations mocked him as it was very unusual for athletes to sprint away from the rest of the contestants early in long distance races instead of preserving energy.
“We are happy that he has put Malawi on the international map. We are proud of him. In most international events we participated, Malawi could not even have a mention, but now we are known everywhere because of Banda,” Phiri said.
“Of course, we knew we could not win a medal, but being a first-timer and pulling a strong-field of world-class athletes in such a big event was no joke.”
On his part, Banda, who participated at the global contest on solidarity, told Weekend Nation that his dramatic performance was a deliberate move aiming at making a name at the big athletics event and prove that he was a very energetic athlete that can ably fight for medals.
“In spite of that, I could even finish on a better position had I not suffered from diarrhoea a day before the contest,” said the athlete, who has been contesting in domestic events since 2005.
