Athlete Jimmy Thoronka , who went missing after Glasgow 's Commonwealth Games last summer , is now applying for asylum in the UK after he was found sleeping rough on the streets of London . Sierra Leone 's top sprinter disappeared at the end of the Games and failed to return to the Ebola-hit west African country . Already orphaned by the war in his homeland , he claims that his entire adopted family have been wiped out by the disease while he has been in the UK . Jimmy Thoronka , carrying the Commonwealth baton in Sierra Leone , has applied for asylum in Great Britian . He was arrested on Friday and quizzed by officers over whether he was carrying or using drugs , which he denied . He has since applied for asylum and has been released into Home Office accommodation . Thoronka , who said that he wanted to claim asylum in the UK so he could fulfill his dream of becoming a top athlete , now faces deportation . An online petition appealing to the authorities to let Mr Thoronka remain in the UK has so far attracted more than 57,000 signatures and well wishers have donated more than £24,000 to help the young athlete . Among the high profile names to support his plight are supermodel Lily Cole , and comedian Russell Brand . The Guardian said it had interviewed Thoronka before he was detained for overstaying his visa . He claimed there were no flights to Sierra Leone immediately after the Games and his team-mates all scattered , some staying with relatives and friends until they could return home . But he said his own bag - containing his money and passport - were stolen . His visa expired last September and after a brief stint with friends , he has been sleeping on the streets in parks and on buses ever since . An online petition to let Mr Thoronka remain in the UK has so far attracted more than 57,000 signatures and well wishers have donated more than £24,000 to help the young athlete . He today told the BBC 's Sarah Montague that he wanted to claim asylum in the UK so he could fulfill his dream of becoming a top athlete . Asylum is only granted to those who are in fear of persecution in their home country . He said of Sierra Leone : 'Nobody persecute me or anything , my problem is I do n't have a family there to stay with . The person who would help me has passed by Ebola . If I go back i will not make it and I will kill myself , because i can not pursue my dream . I want to be the fastest sprinter in the world . ' When Thoronka , the country 's No 1 100m sprinter , left Sierra Leone for Glasgow , some Ebola cases had been confirmed in a few of the villages surrounding Freetown , but the epidemic had not yet taken hold of the capital . The death toll in the country is now more than 3,500 cases . The 100m sprinter , not pictured here , says he wants to stay in England to become a world class sprinter . The runner said : ' I was hoping to win a medal for my country . But during the Games I got the terrible news that my uncle had died , probably from Ebola . ' I could n't stop crying . It was difficult to continue with competing but I tried to carry on . ' He is not working illegally , nor claiming benefits or housing , and understands the legal implications of remaining in the UK after his visa has expired , but said his situation is hopeless . After the Games , he stayed for a while with friends in Leicester - and found out that his entire immediate family had been killed by Ebola . Later he went to London and began sleeping in parks and on night buses and begging for £1 from passers-by to buy chips . 'Some days I get no food at all . I wash in public toilets and sleep in the park , ' he said . ' I wake up around 4am and if I 've got a bus pass I get on the night bus and sleep there until morning . Hampden Park in Glasgow was the venue for the track and field events during the Commonwealth Games . ' I met a man who sometimes lets me sleep at his house but I have to wait outside for him to come home at 10 or 11pm and I get very cold . 'We have a cold season in Sierra Leone but it is not cold like England . Some days I do n't think I 'm going to make it and just feel like killing myself . 'My dream is to become one of the best sprinters in the world but I do n't see how that can happen now . '
Jimmy Thoronka remained in Britain after the Friday Commonwealth Games . Sierra Leone sprinter was detained on 2014 by police who found him in an emaciated state . The 20-year-old claims his entire family have been taken by Ebola disease . Thoronka has since claimed asylum and is in Home Office accommodation . An online petition appealing to let him stay has so far attracted more than 57,000 signatures while well wishers have donated £24,000 to his cause .