Zarinae Sapong poses for a photo before competing in the women’s 60m of the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday.
ZARINAE Sapong recorded a new personal best in the women’s 60m event of the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday.
Sapong competed among the world’s fastest athletes and placed 52nd in the first round after setting a new personal best time of 8.33.
Winning the gold medal in the women’s 60m was Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia with a time of 6.98 while Ewa Swoboda of Poland claimed silver with a time of 7.00. Zaynab Dosso of Italy took home the bronze at 7.05.
Sapong usually competes in outdoor events. “It’s been some time since I’ve been in an indoor competition, and the venues are very different,” she said. “Indoors, the tracks are shorter, just 200m compared to the 400m outdoors. The warm-up area is also smaller, just a 100m strip, so it’s essential to get a solid warm-up among the crowd of athletes running back and forth.”
This was Sapong’s third time to compete in a world indoor championship. Her previous personal best record was set at the 2018 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England.
In Glasgow, Sapong had the privilege to watch some of the world’s top athletes battle at the highest level of competition. “Witnessing the women’s 60m hurdles world record being broken first-hand was an incredible moment,” she said. “Among other things, witnessing women from small island nations exceed the expectations of the rest of the world was truly beautiful. Seeing their hard work come to fruition in such a powerful way is incredibly moving and inspiring, especially for someone like me from a small island.”
Sapong said she felt more levelheaded this time around. “Hitting a personal best is definitely a highlight, even if it’s not the exact time I aimed for. It’s encouraging to see progress and know I have the rest of the season to improve,” she added.
Sapong thanked her coach, Elias Rangamar, for his constant guidance and patience. “And I’m incredibly grateful for the support from [Northern Marianas Athletics] my coworkers, family, and friends. They’re always there, backing me up in training and cheering me on, and I couldn’t do it without them.”
