Sierra Leone’s Hafsatu Kamara on the power of representation on the Olympic stage: ‘It enlists hope’

The disappointment stung for Hafsatu Kamara.

Here she was, at her first Olympic Games in Rio 2016, representing her home nation, Sierra Leone.

Unable to advance to the 100m semi-finals in athletics, the 24-year-old later opened her phone to a flood of messages, including from a father in Sierra Leone who had sent her videos and photos of his own daughter – saying she had been dazzled by seeing Hafsatu compete on the Olympic stage.

“It was heartwarming... in the message, he wrote, ‘She told me she wants to be just like Hafsatu Kamara,’” Kamara told Olympics.com in a recent interview.

“It brought me to tears. I had been devastated by my performance as an athlete, a competitor, but to see that message, to see what my representation [means] and what it did for the whole country... That little girl made me realise my goal was: Who am I doing this for? And it’s for my people.

“It’s more than just me.”

Where most fans see the Olympic podium as a sign of achievement and success at the Games, Kamara says being on the global stage for an athlete from the small West African nation of eight million can be game-changing – for the entire country.

“When we see the Olympics, we often see the medals, we see the winning,” she explained. “For countries like Sierra Leone, it really is representation. It’s showing up in places where we otherwise didn’t have a voice, didn’t have a presence. That makes all the difference.

“It shows that if we can do this, then what else can we do? It enlists hope. Generations from now... we’re going to have Olympians [from Sierra Leone] whose goal is the Olympic gold.”

Hafsatu Kamara: 'Who am I doing it for?'

As Kamara works towards qualifying for Paris 2024 while also holding down a full-time job as a professional brand manager, she also has a role on the IOC’s Athlete Commission as Sierra Leone’s Athlete Chair.

She carries that on-track “who am I doing it for?” mentality into her work off of it, too.

“In 2021, with realizing what a big issue women’s and girls’ health is in Sierra Leone – and [including] aspects like environmental sustainability – we partnered with Uman4Uman and founder Haja Isatu Bah [to distribute] reusable feminine pads made by hand, providing them as a resource for young girls,” she said.

The project was a success, enveloping the Sierra Leone athletics team as well as two separate schools in the country.

“There was this aspect of giving back and connecting with the community, but we also attended to these issues of [female] health, raising awareness,” said Kamara, who enlisted help from a media company as well as the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone.

“For me, all these things fold into what it means to be a citizen of Sierra Leone... not just an athlete, a citizen.”

While the work extends beyond the sporting world, it also continues within it, too, Kamara explains, including an upcoming 3x3 basketball clinic that she believes can help ignite the sport that was introduced to the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020.

Just four Sierra Leone athletes qualified for Tokyo 2020 – in total.

“[This is] a way for us to introduce a format in which we can certainly see a capability there,” she explained. “Right now, we can't necessarily uphold a five-on-five team, but a 3x3 team is something that's doable and we can pursue [that].”

“Those initiatives alone are exciting, but then to be with the people [there], have those conversations and build what we can... that’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”

On Dakar 2026: 'All of Africa stands with it'

In 2026, the fourth staging of the summer Youth Olympic Games will take place in Dakar, Senegal, marking the first time an African nation has hosted an Olympic sports event.

Dakar 2026 is seen as a celebration of new hope and opportunities – in particular for young people – and Kamara said she sees it as a “moment that really signifies a difference.”

“Any time that any country in Africa has the chance to stand in front of the world, I see that all of Africa stands with it,” she said. “The Youth Olympic Games in Dakar is really one of these moments.

“It’s us inviting the world and saying, ‘Hey, this is who we really are.’ These are our people, our traditions, our culture. It’s not about what’s painted in the past, it’s who we are now.”

One conversation central to the International Athletes’ Forum Kamara attended in September touched on mental health as well as how athlete commissions globally can better listen to and work with the concerns of their athletes.

The mental health piece is still a topic that has a long way to go – African athletes included.

“For a lot of people in Sierra Leone, it’s the basics – a roof over your head, food to eat, a safe and secure place to be,” Kamara said, saying it’s been a topic of conversation among teammates. “The aspect of, ‘What is my mind thinking?’ as an athlete comes later on when you have [bigger] things unanswered.”

Chasing Paris 2024: 'I want to make an impact'

Kamara was born in the United States to Sierra Leonian parents, and moved to Sierra Leone when she was just a few months old, spending the first five years of her childhood there. As the country’s civil war worsened, however, the family moved back to the U.S. in 1996 with Hafsatu, her parents and three siblings making the trip.

Four other siblings were forced to stay, creating what she calls a “devastating” divide in the family.

After competing at Rio 2016, Kamara fell short of hitting the qualifying time for the 100m for Tokyo, but has ramped up her training once again with the aim to qualify for her second Games at Paris 2024.

“My training is the best it’s ever been,” said Kamara, who is based in Atlanta and works to help oversee the digital platform HightlightHER, which tells the powerful stories of females in sports – at many levels.

“Being in Rio made me realise how important that mental aspect is,” she said. “And mentally I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, too. I’m ready.”

She thinks back to those DMs she received from a father in Sierra Leone... and hopes her trip to Paris (should she make it) will be just as impactful for other young girls watching – and beyond.

"I want to make an impact,” she said, again calling out the “coming generations. “I want to show representation of Sierra Leoneans across the world. From athletics, to business, to the environment... all the different spaces that we can be in and get away from the stigma that we are currently stuck in."