The preparation is nothing to talk about; but I am not discouraged, rather I’m taking it up as a challenge to increase the tempo of my training outsi… - Mariam Usman

Olympic gold medal doesn’t come cheap. It is painful that one has to suffer and when competition comes they expect you to win a medal with your blood. The people you have to compete with had everything they needed: training grants, competitions and are exposed to the most modern equipment. I had nothing. You don’t expect such people who have invested so much to lose to one who don’t even train adequately.

I have won a couple of medals in several competitions but I yearn for an Olympic medal. It is the ultimate reward an athlete can get to show that one got to the peak of sport. And so it really hurts when one cannot get to the podium to receive an Olympic medal. Hurts real good.

It is painful to come to the Olympics and see people who are your contemporaries perform better than you; not because you lack the ability but because you were not prepared like them.