QUEENSLAND -- Couriermail.com: Sekou Kanneh never heard the crack of the starting pistol on his way to breaking a 21-year-old record at the Queensland Secondary Schools State Championships.In a world first, the 13-year-old Deaf sprinter’s scorching 100m at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre was released by the flash of a hi-tech starting system that frees him to compete against, and beat, able-bodied athletes.
The Indooroopily State High School student’s time of 11.36secs in Thursday’s semi-final shaved .08sec from the previous mark and qualified him for the national championships to be held in Townsville in December. Just to prove it was no fluke, he repeated the time in the final, helping himself to the Queensland title. “I was so excited, and proud,” Kanneh said through an interpreter.
While his rivals reacted to the gun, Kanneh responded to a set of lights that rest directly in his eye line near the top of his starting blocks.
Previously, Deaf athletes racing in able-bodied competition would react to a tap on the shoulder from a helper standing behind the blocks.
In Kanneh’s case, he would watch for a twitch from the runner in the adjacent lane, a tactic that increases the risk of a false start.
That old system could cost Deaf sprinters almost three-tenths of a second, potentially the difference between first and last.
Now that the International Association of Athletics Federations has made the lights legal in able-bodied competition, runners like Kanneh can compete on an even playing field and legitimately claim records... Read The Full Story.
