Adama Njie (or N'Jie; born 7 February 1978) is a retired

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

n middle-distance runner who specialised in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. She represented her country in three

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and one

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, and was the

flag-bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

for the Gambia at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

1996

At the

1996 African Championships in Athletics The 10th African Championships in Athletics were held in Yaoundé, Cameroon between 13 and 16 June 1996 at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table External linksResults– GBR Athletics {{African C ...

, aged 18, Njie won a bronze medal in the women's 800 metres (with a time of 2:10.10). She was the first Gambian runner to win a medal at the championships for an individual performance, as the country's only other medal had come in the 4 × 100 metres relay (at the 1984 event). A few weeks after her medal at the African Championships, Njie was a member of the nine-athlete Gambian delegation at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, as the only female competitor for her country. Her only race was the

, where she failed to finish the race. She was the third-youngest runner in the event, after Ethiopia's

Kutre Dulecha Kutre Dulecha (born August 22, 1978 in Sidamo) is a middle distance runner from Ethiopia. She mainly competes in 1500 metres, where she set a world junior record in 1997. She became world indoor champion in 2004, Ethiopia's first ever women's 15 ...

and Yaznee Nasheeda of the Maldives.

1997–2000

Running in the 800 metres at the

1997 World Championships in Athletics The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 19 ...

, Njie placed last in her heat and finished 31st in a field of 36 runners. She fared better in the 800 metres at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

in Kuala Lumpur, placing 17th in a field of 25 runners where the top 16 qualified for the semi-finals. For the

in Sydney, Njie was one of only two Gambian athletes (along with Pa Mamadou Gai, and became the country's first female flag-bearer. She again ran the

, and finished second-last in her heat with a time of 2:07.90, which placed her 31st out of 37 runners overall.

2001–2004

In the 800 metres at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

, Njie ran the slowest time in her heat and the fourth-slowest overall. She did improve at the 2003 World Championships, finishing over nine seconds slower than she had two years previous. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens, Njie was again the only woman in the Gambian delegation. She was only invited to compete a month before the games were due to start, as another Gambian athlete, Mama Gassama, had been withdrawn. Njie placed last in her heat with a time of 2:10.02, more than ten seconds behind the heat winner,

Maria Cioncan Maria Cioncan (19 June 1977 - 21 January 2007) was a middle distance runner from Romania, best known for winning a bronze medal in the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 1,500 metres, 1500 metres event at the Athletics at the 2004 S ...

of Romania. However, she became the first Gambian woman to participate in three Olympic Games, with sprinter Jabou Jawo being the only other Gambian woman to have previously participated in multiple editions.Jabou Jawo
Sports Reference. Retrieved 20 October 2016.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Njie, Adama 1978 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Gambian female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of the Gambia Commonwealth Games competitors for the Gambia

1996

1997–2000

2001–2004

See also

References

External links