Torn sandals on the swiftest feet: Shirin Akhter, the nation's fastest woman

At the 48th National Athletics Championship, she once again claimed the title of the country's fastest woman—her 16th time holding the honor. The journey to this achievement was anything but easy. Shirin Akhter had to overcome countless hurdles and challenges on her sprint to success. She shared her story of perseverance and struggle with Prothom Alo’s Sozib Mia.

Our school was closed, but practice sessions still continued. One afternoon in 2006, a time when mobile phones weren’t as common as they are today, I decided to reach out to Akbar (Ali) sir. I borrowed 10 taka from my elder sister and headed to the village marketplace. From a small shop, I made the call.

“There’s no practice today,” sir said, “but there’s a competition. Can you come right now?”

Without hesitation, I replied, “Yes, I can!”

After paying the phone bill, I was left with just three taka. I used it to travel as far as I could, then ran the rest of the way. Midway through, my sandals tore. Normally, I stuck to dirt roads instead of paved ones to keep them from wearing out, but this time, I was running too fast, and the strap snapped. Without hesitation, I picked up my sandals, tucked them under my arm, and kept sprinting toward the stadium.

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