Tribute: Kène Ndoye was battling illness
Kène Ndoye, the former Senegalese and African triple jump champion, has died after a long illness.
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Less than three years ago, Senegal learned of the death of Pape Bouba Diop after a long illness. The hero of the 2002 World Cup with the Lions of Teranga lived with his illness for two years, but in complete anonymity.
Read on the same subject: Senegal: athlete Kène Ndoye has died
That is somewhat what Kène Ndoye has been going through for more than 8 years. The multiple African champion in the triple jump and long jump saw her career abruptly ended by illness in 2012. Bedridden since, she finds it enormously hard to pay for her care. So the champion is living through her ordeal amid total indifference from the sports authorities, with a devoted mother at her side to help her day to day.
One of the finest records in Senegalese athletics
A member of the fine generation of Senegalese athletes of the 2000s, alongside Amy Mbacké Thiam (400 m hurdles world champion in 2001) and Ndiss Kaba Badji (6th at the 2008 Olympics), Kène has one of the best records of any athlete in Senegal. With no fewer than around fifteen continental medals (long jump, triple jump, 100 m hurdles and 4 x 400 m relay), she is one of the few Senegalese women to win a world medal.
That came in 2003 in the triple jump at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham (England), with a leap of 14.72 m. She is also in the very select group of female jumpers who have cleared the 15m mark in the triple jump. Kène Ndoye also holds the Senegalese records in the long jump and triple jump. And she was named Lion d'or in 2003. The trophy rewards Senegal's best sportsperson of the year.
Sports ministry gives 10 million FCFA
On social media, a post by a neighbour, Modou Guèye Seck, titled "Bouba has gone, Kène not yet" served as a wake-up call. Like a whistleblower, this family friend stirred things up, and internet users helped it spread widely enough to reach the country's highest authorities.
After years in which her SOS to the presidency of the Republic went unanswered, Kène Ndoye was granted 10 million FCFA by the Ministry of Sports on the instruction of President Macky Sall. It is a start, though it is not certain that it will cover all the costs of her illness, which, according to those close to her, is very rare.
Well before this gesture from the State, it was anonymous people who launched a fundraiser through money transfers. It was a show of solidarity that highlights the place sportspeople should hold.
Moustapha M. SADIO