Rising senior Emmanuel Dasor met with the media on Friday afternoon at the WKU Track and Field Complex as he trained with Head Coach Erick Jenkins before he leaves for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil.

Dasor qualified for the Olympics earlier in July at the Soga-Nana Memorial meet in Cape Coast, Ghana where he posted a personal-best time of 20.49 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

“It was the last competition I could ever do to qualify,” Dasor said. “I was a little bit nervous going out there. I tried so hard to just be relaxed, and I did what I was supposed to do. That was the most exciting day of my life.”

Dasor will leave for Rio on Sunday. He will compete in the 200-meter dash as he represents his native country of Ghana, which Dasor said

“It means a lot to me,” Dasor said. “To have this opportunity to go out and represent my native country, my school and myself is such a huge honor.”

It wasn’t until 2008 when Dasor first felt he needed to represent his motherland. In 2012, Dasor was at home watching Ghana.

“I didn’t believe in myself then, but now I believe in myself and I made it,” Dasor said. “My friends and family are all excited for me, because we always watch the Olympics together and they would always say that one day you will go there. I kept on praying that I would get there. I think I am ready to go.”

Dasor lived in Ghana until he came to WKU two years ago. His family will not be in Rio to watch him participate, but he said that they will be watching closely on T.V.

In preparation for Rio, Dasor has been going through workouts which he said were “hard” in order to be ready for what he said is the “highest sporting event in the world.”

In 2016, Dasor competed in three NCAA Championship finals, earning First-Team All-American honors in both the indoor 400 meter and outdoor 4×100 meter relay while he added Second-Team All-American honors in the indoor 200 event. Additionally, the sprinter qualified for the 2016 World Indoor Championship and was part of multiple Conference-USA finals.

Dasor will be competing in his favorite event at Rio –the 200 meter dash.

“I do the one (100 meter) and the four (400 meter),” Dasor said. “The one helps me with my speed and the four helps me with my endurance. It’s kind of in the middle so it’s my favorite event.”

Coach Jenkins first saw Dasor’s talent early in the recruitment process.

“Watching film you can see that he had tremendous upside,” Jenkins said. “He has been extremely disciplined and he has worked hard both on and off the track. He has been a good student. He has stayed committed to doing things the right way.”

Jenkins said that Dasor has the fastest 100 meter time at WKU and is also one of the top 200 meter runners of all time at WKU.

“He has proven that he can get that job done not only on the collegiate level, but on the international level as well,” Jenkins said. “He has some of the fastest times ever run here at WKU. He has earned my respect and I hope I have earned his. Everybody wants an athlete like that.”

However, despite his success at the college level, Dasor’s goal for the Olympics is simple.

“My goal is to be better than what I was yesterday,” Dasor said. “I’m just going to take it one step at a time.”