ZAMBIA’s sprinter Gerald Phiri has said that he is disappointed that he did not make the final of the men’s 100m at the London Olympic Games, but that he is hopeful of better performances in future events.
Phiri, who was bubbling with confidence prior to the race, finished a distant fifth in the semi-finals in 10.11 seconds as Bolt qualified for the final in 9.87secs at the 80,000-sitter Olympic Stadium.
In the semi-final, the USA’s Ryan Bailey was second in 9.96secs followed by Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago (10.02secs), Great Britain’s Dwain Chambers (10.05secs), Antigua and Barbuda’s Daniel Bailey (10.16secs), Antoine Adams of Saint Kitts and Nevis (10.27secs) and China’s Bingtian Su (10.28secs). The top three progressed to the final.
A determined Phiri, who was in lane nine, got off with terrific speed but his pace could not march that of the top three.
“It was a terrible race. I did not execute the race as I wanted. It was not easy. I put pressure on myself and I wanted to qualify to the final. I have to see what happens next,’’ Phiri said in an interview.
He said he was not intimidated to be paired in heat two with the best runners in the world.
‘’For me to qualify to the semi-finals, it means I am among the best runners in the world. It was my first Olympics. I have to move on and feel proud. I am only 23 and I was the youngest in the race,’’ Phiri said.
He said it is always good to compete with Bolt whom he described as a great athlete. Phiri said he has already started focusing on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. He said having graduated from A&M University in Texas in the USA, he will now concentrate on athletics.
Phiri is confident that one day he will put Zambia on the athletics map[pullquote].For me to qualify to the semi-finals, it means I am among the best runners in the world. It was my first Olympics. I have to move on and feel proud. I am only 23 and I was the youngest in the race,’’ Phiri said[/pullquote].
“I am not afraid to fail. That is why I had set myself a target of making it to the final. I train with fast runners such as Tyson Gay, who is the second fastest man in 100 metres. I will be disappointed for a while, go back home to be with my family and then move on. I have few races for this year,’’ said Phiri without naming the competitions he will compete in.
He said he is racing against time and will take advantage of every opportunity to improve. Athletics coach Felix Mbuye commended Phiri for putting up a brave performance.
“It was a tough race but the guy has tried. He was fifth with 10.11 seconds and if you see the difference in time with the other runners it is not much,’’ Mbuye said.
He called on the government to partner with the Zambia Amateur Athletics Association in grooming athletes for international competitions. Mbuye said with adequate preparations, Phiri could be the next Samuel Matete.
Matete, a 400m hurdles specialist, won a gold medal at the 1991 World Championship in Tokyo, Japan, and won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Mbuye said Zambian runners are as good as their colleagues in Kenya and Ethiopia among others.
Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Bizwayo Nkunika saluted Phiri for reaching the semi-finals. Nkunika said by making it to the semi-finals, Phiri should be proud of himself as he competed with the best runners in the world.
“Gerald ran among the best in the world and he qualified to compete among the best. This being his first appearance at the Olympics was like being thrown to the deep end of the pool. But he floated through with confidence. Zambia needs to nurture and invest in this big boy. He put up a very good show and deserves commendation,” he said.
Nkunika urged Zambians to rally behind Phiri and the other athletes.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
he tried his best. with good coaching next time, he can beat BOLT’S record. but all in all he z good,
okay!, good effort and keep it up boy. running with Bolt obviously may not be that easy but you reperesented us well and all the best.
I have no doubt that this guy will awe people in the not so-distant future.
PERFECT BOY – ONE DAY U BE THE GREATEST LIKE BOLT – AM PROUD OF GERALD FOR ZAMBIA 23
GERALD DON’T EVEN TRY TO GIVE UP.FOR NOW U R THE BEST IN ZED…AND WE R BEHIND U ALL THE WAY..GO…..GO…..GO….GERALD PHIRI.
Mr Phiri you’ve already laid a foundational zambian imprint on the worlds athletics map.Being in the elite of 100m is no small feat to achieve and for that we’re mighty proud of you.Hang in there Rio is yours to conquer.
zikomo iwo a Phiri…..mulungu akudalitseni…..
You lost. period.
Good luck man! You did you best. Set serious goals, you will do better next time.
yes you will one, good performance for a start.
yes you will one day, good performance for a start.
You have already put Zed on the world scene . I watched you and was cheering , you made us proud. Only the best in World compete in the 100m dash and you are up there with the best. congratulations!
Phiri you did well not those useless Boxers like Choomba and that other Judoka,they proved to be very useless and a shame to the sport.Its a shame that u send someone to a sport who don’t even know the rules of the sport.Choomba and that other judoka embarrassed Zambia in front of the all world on their very poor sportsmanship.
Useless runner
At least he is very very very useful a Zambian. he might be useless to you but hey we love Gerald
@ fi No. 8 and 14 tiyeni uko!!!! Gerald is trying his level best to be on the world map whilst you are just busy drinking kachasu, atase imwe!
You made Zambia proud. All you naysayers are just dunderheads.
You have already put Zambia on the map son!
Gerald can not improve further.Zambian Government must focus on young talent and start preparing for Rio 2016.Gerald Phiri, Prince Mumba and others who have failed us must not be included in the next Olympic team because they have reached their peak and can not improve further than what they have given us.
As long as he meets the ‘Olympic times/targets’, he can/will be included. That is the basis of selection.
Sounds like stories I used to hear afer every exam result during my school. “I failed only with 2 marks”.
You are the next bolt
DON’T BLAME YOURSELF YOUNG MAN. IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT. IT’S THE FAULT OF ALL ZAMBIAN GOVTs THAT ARE NOT SERIOUS ABOUT SPORT. THEY START PREPARING YOU WHEN IT’S A WEEK B4 OLYMPICS. YOU TRIED- AND WE ARE PROUD OF YOU YOUNG MAN, INCLUDING YOUR OTHER COLLEAGUES WHO REACHED THE LONDON 2012. KEEP IT UP TO YOU ALL AND CONGRATULATIONS.
I watched you and felt so proud… keep it up son things don’t come in 90 days
Yes Gerald, that’s the spirit, having watched you in the two races I am sure you are a future gold champion. I like it when you say you don’t feel intimidated by whoever you compete against and that you are already looking forward to Rio 2016. Go, go, go, Phiri boy!
No need to be dissapointed, Gerald Phiri. What matters is that you were right in the midst of the event and not just a spectator, like hundreds of other runners. We’re all proud of you and hope to see more of Zambian flag bearers at the Olympics in the future.
Gerald is currently the fastest human being in Africa!! Whoaaaaa!!
Keep your head high brother. You did well for yourself..
Congrats young boy,good performance don’t rest remain focused continue preparing so as to others who failed to make it.Anyway it is another tour to remember,as for ZAAA kindly keep a closer eye on all the young athletes in the country we can do it lets utilise the Ndola ground which I understand has all the international standards.To friends with companies invest much in sports too.And to fellow athletics loving friends in this family,never ran away contribute towards this great sport in administration you never go wrong..In athletics,we dwell and prosper bane.
icibemba citila aciti “uwawa tabula kabepesho” balikushya fye. my friend we do not believe in promises, what you did was enough
Iwe ngomwa , Gerald is blaming no one. not even your clan in cabinet. he squarely puts the blame on himself for not executing his game plan well. He certainly has room to excel. Remember the man says he doesn’t fear failure like you and you entire family that can’t even participate in games like netball, and kabisale.
I was enjoying reading this story till I came across something like this “Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Bizwayo Nkunika saluted Phiri for reaching the semi-finals”.
And your point?
Naimwe Aphiri …muoneka ngati mungatchayenso bola zolimba in centre forward position(No 9)…ayi..??
I saw Mr.Phiri run. I was impressed. Didnt even know we had such runners. ALL THE BEST BOI!!!!!!!
Dont give up my brother, you are not far from a medal. And dont listen to failures that are discouraging you and saying rubbish from their rotten mouths. We are very proud of you. Go for it and we are with you all the way.
This guy is headed for great things. Well done young man.
good runner but born in a wrong era!
Just believe in yourself and you will be number one, Bolt, Blake, Bailey, Gay are all just human. the only difference between 10.11 seconds and 9.62 seconds is mindset and environment.
This boy used to train in UK, I’m told… if we keep snoozing the British, Germans, French or Australians will steal him from right under our noses …give him Dual Citizenship and make him a champion as these countries are chasing for medals on the medal table they all want to catch with US and China!.
Job well done!!!
Stay focussed, you will conquer and fly high our national flag. Well done at the 2012 competitions.
Phiri you can run man, and what was best about you was that you were not intimidated by those hyper-super Jamaicans & USA sprinters who kept banging their chests.
Kula yumfwa fye in bars that “twalebutuka nabena Usain Bolt ifwe”…
Work on beating the 10 seconds barrier and you’ll be good!
stay possitive -u made me proud-if at first u dont succeed-dust urself off and try again-never say die,up man and try-keep working at it ,never let anyone squash ur dreams,believe in urself and ul silence the nay sayers!! and shame on any Zambian who has anything negative to say!
You did us proud!
Keep on with the training.
Will see you in Rio!
Awe mune wali bomba, keep on moving.
At least you tried,brother, but I hope you do as promised next time.If you don’t ,you should quit sports and start a different career.I PERSONALLY DON’T BELIEVE IN BEING AVERAGE.BE THE BEST NEXT TIME.NO EXCUSES!
Personally I would never praise a loser. The closest I can get in doing so is not say anything. Whose money did these loser use to go and spend and come back medaless? The good thing is the team was not full of Bembas so that people did not cry Bemba dominance. Viva Chipolopolo
Gerard you did well man and we are proud of you, even my kids who are not Zambian because they have been denied of dual citizenship were cheering for you. A few suggestions for Zambia and Africa. We need to invest more in sports and atheletics. Football isn’t the only sport in the world you know. We need to start doing Olympics for Africa maybe once a year and please don’t reply saying we can’t afford it. We can afford to do that. Forgive my ignorance if there already olympics for Africa. I remember growing up, we use to put emphasis on athletics in Zambia which I think isn’t the case any more. Keep it up Gerard, some of us were fast runners but never got a chance to go to the olympics because we never got a chance or weren’t well informed.
Gerald, You are good. Continue working hard. I salute you and am proud of you.
The fact that you were the youngest should have given you that competitive edge over the old guards. This is sports my friend where the younger you are the faster you should be. In the next three years, you will be slower due to many factors. Even in politics now, the younger you are the better of a politician you will be
We’re not disappointed in you bro. We’re proud. Keep going. Don’t be discouraged. More practice. You’re not yet that age where you start to slow down. Don’t let them do their PHD (pull him down) on you. Be blessed!!!
We wanted medals not silly excuses iwe Phiri anabwera ka!
Yeeeesssssssss! Gerald I have hope in you
With guys like Gerald coming up strongly amongest the best in world we can start seeing the
light at the end of tunnel.
As a started he did very well. Bolt was not very good at first, but see where he is. I believe if Phiri continue to train he might do better next time.
Do not be too proud of reaching the semi-finals, Gerald, your potential is much bigger than those guys u ran against, if you have a chance get back to the USA and concentrate on improving on your endurance and timing. I recorded both your preliminary and semi-final bouts and I have reviewed them many times, it should not take you too long to beat the best of the best, you have rare talent but it has to be nurtured, any good coach should take u on as a new ‘discovery’ at the olympics, Gud luck Gerald, I always admire your lovely country and its determined sportsmen and women, including Ichipolopolo.
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