Sierra-Leone marathoner disappears in London

Mami Lahun

Mami Lahun: disappears in London

A female athlete from Sierra Leone has been declared missing in the United Kingdom after participating in the London Marathon.

Mami Konneh Lahun, 24, finished 20th in the race but vanished 24 hours later from her Greenwich home.

Scotland Yard initially denied that she was not mising, only to recant later, that she was indeed missing.

The athlete, who is Sierra Leone’s fastest-ever 5,000 metre and 10,000 metre runner, last year won her country’s marathon and in neighbouring Liberia.

She is the first woman from Sierra Leone to have represented the country at the London Marathon.

Mami Lahun: disappears in London
Mami Lahun: disappears in London

Scotland Yard said she arrived in Britain a week ago to prepare for the marathon, and finished in just over 2 hours 46 minutes.

Detectives looking into her disappearance revealed she had no known links to the UK and no money or mobile phone.

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After the London Olympics in 2012, about 70 athletes and coaches disappeared or claimed asylum after the Games.

According to The Mailmore than half were given refugee status.

Last year police admitted they were still looking for 21 people who just vanished, with one official saying that some had competed then ‘simply wandered off to make a better life’ in Britain.

Those who failed to return home were from countries including the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Cameroon and Sudan.

Among those believed to have claimed asylum were the Congolese judo coach Ibula Masengo, athletics director Guy Nkita and boxing trainer Blaise Bekwa.

The Eritrean athlete Weynay Ghebresilasie, 18, was one of four from his country to claim asylum before the Games finished. He said he was doing so because of ‘harsh conditions’ and ‘lack of basic human rights’ in Eritrea.

.Reported by Mail Onine

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