Gambian athlete Mensah Elliot has won Silver at the 5th World Masters Athletics Indoor Championship in Finland. The Gambian was part of approximately 4000 athletes who participated in the games.

Elliot, a British citizen switched allegiance to The Gambia last June in order to be able to compete for the country but unfortunately, due to a number of injuries, have been unable to race sooner after switching but was determined to do something before the indoor season finished.

In the 60meter huddles, Mensah qualified easily for the finals and finished 2nd, running the same time as the winner, 8.12s. He could’ve won the race but his start was not the best but was still able to take the lead after the first hurdle. Unfortunately, he hit the last three hurdles, which enabled the other athlete to gain ground on him.

The photo finish from the right clearly shows Mensah ahead of the athlete but the judges decided to go with the image from the camera on the left. They said it was more conclusive.

Reacting to his achievements in the European country, Mensah revealed that though he would’ve liked to finish in front, he is still happy with his finish following a long spell out on the sidelines with the niggling injury.

“Anyway, considering that I haven't been able to train over the hurdles for over three months due to a hamstring injury, I am pretty pleased with the result. I will now work on getting rid of this injury and train as best as I can for the outdoor season” he said in an email sent to Observer Sports.

The competition in Finland was the 5th World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships. It was very well represented with approximately 4000 competitors from all around the world.

Mensah was the sole representative for The Gambia and added that he had to make sure that he was noticed, flying the flag for The Gambia. He though added that he found it amazing how many people have never heard of the country or where it is.

“I made the finals for the 60m sprint and I was immediately noticed. I had people coming up to me and asking me about The Gambia. Gambia has never before been represented in these championships so people were surprised that someone from such a small country could make it to the finals of a sprints event” he concluded.