Luke Napier Photo
Sophomore sprinter Madjo Doumbia broke another Centre College track record recently with her time of 57.24 seconds in the 400-meter dash to beat the mark All-American Kasey Jackson set in 2011. It was the third time she has a school record this outdoor season and fifth time overall in 2023.
She just missed breaking two more records Friday in the Centre Twilight meet with her wins in the 200 and 400 in 25.51 and 58.0 seconds. Her 200 times was only .01 seconds off her own current school record.
Not bad considering Doumbia was not exactly planning on being at Centre College and had a different journey that brought her to Danville from Philadelphia.
“I was nominated for a full tuition scholarship (Posse Scholarship) and Centre was one of the colleges on the list,” said Doumbia. “I had to rank my top choice and Centre was not the top choice. I was not even banking on getting the scholarship.
“I was very happy when I got the scholarship and knew coming to Centre would be a huge change from Philadelphia. It was so far from home. It was scary at first. The (track) team, coaches and classmates from the Posse Scholarship made me feel so welcome.”
Her mother was happy she got the scholarship because Doumbia’s goal was to pay as little as possible for college. Her father was happy but “resistant” to the move so far from home.
“I am the oldest child. I have a little brother 10 and little sister 14 who also runs track. I was his first child to leave the house but he met all my mentors when I first moved in at Centre and he has been fine,” the Centre sophomore said.
She attended Bodine High School in Philadelphia and that required about a 1 1/2-hour commute daily on public transportation. The school did not have a track and normally practiced outside on concrete unless it had to go inside due to inclement weather.
“It was hard. Other schools we competed against had more resources. We didn’t even have starting blocks but we made it work,” she said. “I literally learned how to use the starting blocks once I got here.”
She was a quick learner obviously because she won the 200-meter dash at the 2022 Southern Athletic Association outdoor championships and second in the 100.
Doumbia thought she could do well on the Centre track team after checking the success national champion sprinter JP Vaught had before she even got to Danville. She emailed Centre associate track coach Edwin Hagans after she signed her scholarship papers to let him know she would like to join the track team.
“In a way, I kind of did recruit myself. Track is the passion in my life, so I just wanted a chance to be on the team and once I saw how JP did, I knew I would be fine here,” Doumbia said. “In high school we had a team but when it got to district championships or Public League I was only able to qualify as one of the elite competitors and not on a team but I did set some high school records.”
“I expected to do well at Centre but did not know it would happen so fast. I didn’t realize how much being part of a program like this would help me.”
She had never lifted weights before arriving at Centre and had no idea how much it would help her speed.
“I am stronger now and that (lifting weights) has absolutely something to do with my speed,” she said.
Having talented teammates to push her has helped, too.
“I tell them every day how much I admire them and how they inspire me,” she said. “Honestly, I look up to JP and (junior) Jasmine (Claunch). I did not know much about Jasmine before I got here but I would text JP before I got to campus. When I saw he won nationals, I knew Centre was definitely the right place for me.”
Doumbia is not sure if the 100- , 200- or 400-meter dash is her best event but she knows her favorite is the 200. She ran all three in high school like she is at Centre but admits it is a lot harder in college because the 400 and 100 are back-to-back events in college.
“I am aiming to qualify for nationals in all three. I believe I can do it. If not all three, then I have more of a chance in the 100 or 400,” she said.
She’s also part of the 4×100 relay team with Claunch, Caroline Davis and Shelby Smith that broke the school record set in 2014.
“We had basically two weeks of practice and then broke the school record. It was insane but we know we can still go faster,” she said.
Doumbia has lofty aspirations off the track, too. She’s a French major with an African-American studies minor and she one day hopes to open pharmacies in Africa since her family is from Mali in western Africa.
“I thought why not major in French, go to pharmacy school and then open a pharmacy to help people since I would be able to speak French fluently,” Doumbia said. “My mom is my inspiration. She came here from Africa when she was about 25 or 26 and did not know a lick of English.”
She’s been to Mali where French is the official language twice. She hopes to go back but with internships, school work and athletics she has not been able to find the time.
Centre does offer a study abroad program in Ghana, another west African country, that Doumbia hopes she will be able to apply for her senior year.
For now, she’s grown to love being in Danville.
“To be totally honest, my freshman year I didn’t love it here. I came from a big city with something to do every day. Here it is very quiet,” she said. “Danville has grown on me and has a special place in my heart. I am making new memories and experiences with the people here and I just love being here now.”
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Doumbia and Centre will compete at the Rick Erdmann Twilight at Eastern Kentucky University this week.
