Amadou Dia Bâ honoured for Seoul Olympic silver
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Senego
Amadou Dia Bâ was honoured in Dakar at the launch of a book about his career and the Olympic silver medal he won in the 400-metre hurdles in Seoul in 1988. Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye praised the historic significance of the performance for Senegal, Leral reports.
Amadou Dia Bâ was honoured in Dakar on Saturday 24 October at the launch of a book devoted to his career. The ceremony, held at the Pullman, was sponsored by Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, president of the Senegalese National Olympic and Sports Committee, who praised the former hurdler’s perseverance despite limited resources, Leral reports.
The authors Cheikh Tidiane Fall, Mamadou Koumé, Abdoulaye Dabo and Khalifa Ndiaye, as well as Éditions sportives africaines, were involved in the tribute. Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye called for this story to be passed on to young people ahead of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games and recalled the athlete’s appearances in the Olympic finals in Los Angeles in 1984, Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992.
The ceremony looked back at the silver medal won by Amadou Dia Bâ in Seoul on 28 September 1988 in 47.23 seconds. The performance remains Senegal’s only Olympic medal at the Summer Games and also set an African record in the 400-metre hurdles.
