USF sprinter's Olympic dreams take him home

TAMPA, Fla. - Saminu Abul-Rasheed saved his best for last.

"I'm still healthy and ready to go more," Abul-Rasheed said. 

All season long, the University of South Florida sophomore sprinter from Ghana broke program records and, often, even his own expectations. The one thing that continually eluded Abul-Rasheed, however, was an Olympic qualifying time.

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"That is every athlete's dream right now, running at the Olympic level," he said. 

Coming close many times throughout the Bulls' track and field season, it looked as if Abul-Rasheed would be left on campus when the Paris Olympics opened later this summer. 

With one final race to run in the NCAA Championships, however, he knew he needed to make his last chance to qualify for a spot on Ghana's Olympic team count. 

"I've got nobody in front of me, so I just have to chase myself, or they will chase me," the USF Sophomore remembered thinking to himself before the race. 

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Finishing third in the men's 200M, Abul-Rasheed took third with a time of 0:20.12, which is good enough to qualify for the Olympics and a roster spot on his national team. 

"When I saw it [the time], I was like 'Woah! Call me an Olympian and put some respect on my name,'" he said. 

With his Olympic dreams in hand, another dream of Abul-Rasheed was about to come to life. After two years away from his home country, the USF sprinter would now return to Ghana to train for the Olympics. 

But training wasn't the only thing on his mind. 

"I'm just happy that I'm going to see my family again back home, because I miss them a lot and they miss me, as well," he said. 

While the sophomore is used to spending his days running around a quarter-mile-long track, Abul-Rasheed's feet have now led him back home to his family and his mother. 

"She always prays for me when she sees me," he said. "I always love to see her, because she is my everything."

With a prayer now answered for one of the world's fastest, Abdul-Rasheed now takes his mark at making his own at the Olympics. 

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