By: Luca Muehlbauer

Lansina is in the final stretch of track season and has inspired many. 

Track is a challenging sport, you have to stay motivated, be humble, and work very hard to be the best. You must be a leader and a motivator. Lansina Diakite is all of those things. He has been an inspirational figure on this track team and has been able to perform at a high level. He managed to place second in long jump at a recent track meet against Green Hope and isn’t done yet. With the season coming to an end, the big races are coming up and he is focusing on his mindset and body so they are prepared for the difficulties ahead. 

Lansina has had an up-and-down track career at Cary High School. But this year has definitely been a breakthrough for him and the team. Lansina mentioned that “ A big thing is staying focused in practice, [and that] you have to come in with a mindset ready to work, staying humble and knowing you can do better each time.” Their practice regime usually is the same every week: Monday is generally lots of running and cardio exercises, Tuesdays for jumpers is plyometrics, Wednesdays are lighter training days, Thursdays are usually meet days but now with regionals and state on the weekends Thursdays are now just used as another training session, and Fridays are either a rest day or another light day. 

In his first three years on the team, Lansina didn’t have the greatest of resumes. In his freshman year, his season was cut short due to soccer, during Sophomore year he was injured and had to stop early, and Junior year he had to leave the track team early due to Ramadan. But his senior year has brought lots of success so far. Lansina has decided that this is finally going to be a full year of track and he found his passion in track, long jumping. He has performed at a high level in long jumping week in and week out. 

Now with regionals coming up, the team and Lansina have to perform to try and get to nationals. The team is ready to perform and as Lansina says, “ Mentally I feel ready, my body needs to heal a little more, but my mindset is ready to run and compete.” The team has done really well this season but Lansina believes that even if they don’t advance to nationals, they shouldn’t view this season as a failure. “Obviously everyone wants to make nationals and compete at the highest level, but if you take a look back and pause and see how far you’ve come, I think anyone can find success.” 

Lansina has become an inspiration to many and his motivation is unmatched. He competes at the highest level, and something that sets him apart from others is that he has fun on the track. He uses his personal records as his competition, he doesn’t compare himself to the other runners and jumpers. He looks to break his own records, and that makes him work harder than anyone. That man is called Lansina Diakite.