Record-breaking Gee-Gee hurdler in line for Commonwealth Games

By Josh Wegman

When Sekou Kaba first moved to North America from Guinea he had no idea what hurdles were. Now, the Canadian Interuniversity Sport hurdles champion is a master.

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees athlete set a new CIS benchmark with his 7.79-second performance in the men’s 60 m hurdles in Edmonton last month, breaking a record previously held by Mark McKoy, the Canadian gold medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the 110 m hurdles.

Kaba was especially impressed by the record since he isn’t usually an especially powerful starter and prefers the 110 m outdoors so he can build up his speed throughout the race.

That scenario mirrors Kaba’s path on the road to becoming a top prospect for the Canadian national team. In pursuit of a place on the 2012 Olympic team, Kaba endured a false start since his citizenship papers didn’t arrive until after the Games (neither did the required time standards, however).

Kaba moved north in 2007 after living in Michigan and Georgia, turning down several NCAA offers to stay in Ottawa.

“It was a family decision to move to Canada,” recounts Kaba, the third of seven children.

The 23-year-old showed a fair bit of potential as a linebacker and tight end during his high school days in football-mad Georgia.

“If I wasn’t running track I’d definitely be playing football,” he indicates.

It was Shiloh High School linebacker coach Dan Hudson who introduced Kaba to hurdling since he also doubled as the Snellville, GA school’s track and field coach.

“He’s the first person who saw true talent in me,” recalls Kaba, who still keeps in touch with his former coach regularly. “He’s a great guy, very motivational, uplifting, and always tells me to keep working.”

Kaba needed to call on some serious resiliency last season. He’d been coming off a breakthrough 2012 campaign, but a series of injuries cut his 2013 season short.

“You don’t really realize how tough you are mentally until an injury strikes,” notes the second-year uOttawa criminology student. “It helps you realize what your potential is and what you’re capable of doing.”

Scenarios raced through Kaba’s head as he cheered on his Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club teammates while dealing with a nagging hamstring.

“Will I be able to come back? How well will I do?” Kaba remembers thinking. 

He wound up without any decline in performance, winning a gold medal in the 110 m hurdles at the 2013 Francophone Games in Nice, France, besting a 2005 world champion from the host country in the final.

Kaba has now positioned himself well as the top local prospect to join the Lions’ crew of 2012 Olympians – middle-distance runner Melissa Bishop, hammer thrower Sultana Frizell and sprinters Segun Makinde and Seyi Smith – on the national team.

The July 23-Aug. 3 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland will be the highlight event for the 2014 season, with the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro not far behind.

“I want to be one of the best hurdlers in the world – simple as that,” Kaba states. “That’s what I’m working hard towards and I believe I can achieve that status. I’m just going to continue working hard until I get there.”