Mami Konneh Lahun is a 24-year-old runner from Sierra Leone, and on Sunday (13 April), she came 20th in the marathon, completing the 26.2 mile course in just over two hours and 46 minutes. Of course she did, she’s broken records as Sierra Leone’s fastest 5.000m and 10,000m runner.
However, there’s a lot more to the story than that – she’s since gone missing. She was meant to return to temporary accommodation in Greenwich after the race, but she hasn’t been seen since. Detectives are looking into her disappearance and say she has no known contacts in the UK and no mobile phone.
Mami might be seeking asylum – after the London Olympics in 2012, 70 athletes and coaches sought political asylum in the UK and 21 others are still missing following the Games. According to the Daily Mail (of course they’ve posed this angle), one official said some athletes and coaches who turned up to get involved in the Olympics ‘simply wandered off to make a better life’ in the UK.
However, this is just a load of conjecture. Though Sierra Leone is a troubled country, having only emerged from a civil war 10 years ago, ranking bottom in the UN’s ranking of human development, detectives have not been looking at any motives for Mami to have gone missing, they’re simply looking for her.
Police urge that if anyone has any information, or has seen Mami, they call 101.
Love this? You might also be interested in:
Boston Marathon Bombing Survivors Commemorate a Year Since The Attack
9 Month Old Baby Has Been Booked on Attempted Murder Charges In Pakistan
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
Picture: Rex
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.