January 19, 2016 By Sahr Morris Jr.
Sierra Leone’s national marathon record holder, Idrissa Kargbo’s first attempt in 2016 to slash his personal best record at the Chevron Houston Marathon ended in disappointment after suffering a crap injury on Sunday.
The runner got-off to a flying start on the streets of Houston, Texas, United States, with great pace after covering 13.1 miles. But just after covering 20 miles, Kargbo pulled up limping as he caught a severe cramp on the lower part of his left foot.
Despite the injury, Kargbo raced to the finish line with a time of 2:56:38 – a time well below his national record of 2:32:52.
According to Leslie Koroma, founder and owner of the U.S.-based African Sports Media online, the silver medalist at the 2013 Liberia Marathon could have broken his personal best had it not been for the injury.
Koroma, who covered the event, said: “[Kargbo] took advantage of the cool weather and flat terrain of Houston to run very fast to the half marathon mark before the disaster struck. He was on his way to a new personal best.”
The 24-year-old, in his post-race interview, said: “I wanted to achieve the Olympic qualifying time of 2 hours and 19 minutes badly, so I went out hard but it’s unfortunate what happened to me during the race.”
Kargbo is still in the United States as he recovers from his injury. He will then return to training with a group of avid distance runners and new found friends in Texas as he continues his quest to achieve the Olympic standard.