World Athletics Championships: Cameroon’s four representatives out as Eseme falls.

Eseme was the last man standing for Cameroon following the early exits of discus thrower, Nora Monie Atim, rising short distance running specialist, Kole Etame Herverge, and triple jumper, Anne Suzanna Fosther-Katta.

The 32-year-old Olympic sprinter finished seventh out of the eight competitors in heat two of the first round of the 200m series.

He did the race in 20.61 seconds, just slightly ahead of bottom-placed Gediminas Truskauskas of Lithuania who covered the distance in 20.93 seconds.

Zimbabwe’s Tapiwanashe Makarawu won the race in 19.91 seconds to claim the first semifinal ticket from the heat while Courtney Lindsey and Adrian Kerr of the United States and Jamaica respectively picked the last two automatic tickets from the series after doing the series in 19.95 and 20.13 seconds each.

The first-round elimination in the 200m series concluded what had been a difficult campaign for Eseme in Japan. 

Before yesterday’s race, Eseme who reached the semifinals of the 100m series at the 2024 Olympic Games had recorded a similarly disappointing performance in the 100m series of the Tokyo World Championships. 

He suffered a first-round elimination after completing his race sitting sixth in heat seven of the series following a performance of 10.24 seconds.

“It is the life of an athlete. There are moments that are good and of course there are challenging ones like what I had today. I receive both the way they come. I will only continue working,” the reigning African Games men’s 100m gold medalist told reporters at the Japan National Stadium after the 200m race yesterday.

“It was a long and difficult season for me. I think I will take some time out with my family and rest so that I will be able to face the next season properly. I have to put in more and come back hoping to do more better,” the athlete who had earlier partly blamed his poor showing in the 100m series of the Tokyo Championships on the multiple injuries that he suffered this season, added. 

Nightmarish but promising campaign 

Eseme’s unsatisfactory performance on Wednesday summed up the difficult, yet challenging campaign that Cameroon registered in the Tokyo Championships.

Before his exit, Nora Atim, Kole Etame and Anne Suzanna Fosther-Katta had all been knocked out under the same circumstances. Nora Atim and Kole Etame were eliminated on the first day of the competition after failing to impress in the opening round of the discus throw series and the 100m events.

Three days after the collapse, Suzanna Fosther-Katta followed closely on Tuesday after failing to sail through in the qualifying phase of the women’s triple jump series. 

The athlete earned a mark of 13.45 to complete the event sitting 16th out of the 17 competitors who entered the race in Group B of the qualifying phase.

In an Instagram post shortly after her elimination, Nora Atim described the 2025 showpiece in Tokyo as the latest learning ground for her steadily growing career. 

“I’m so thankful for such a brilliant season. Every box was checked: competing in Ramona. Competing in France. Hitting a PB (personal best). Winning nationals, and now stepping onto the stage at my second World Championships. Truly amazing,” the athlete wrote.

“I never made it to NCAA nationals. The closest I got was regionals in shot put, where I finished 13th. Back then, it felt like the end of the road. But standing here at the pinnacle of this sport reminds me: it doesn’t matter your size. It doesn’t matter your stature. What matters is your will, your discipline, your drive, and ultimately, finding joy in the journey,” she added.

Medal drought prolongs 

Team Cameroon’s failed mission in Tokyo extends the country’s run without a medal in the World Championships. 

Cameroon has won just two medals since the introduction of the World Championships in 1982. 

Francoise Mbango won both medals after claiming silver medals in the 2001 and 2003 editions in Edmonton and Paris respectively. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3568 of Thursday September 18, 2025