Ghana’s men’s 4x100m relay team walked off the track at the 2025 World Athletics Championships with heads held high and hearts still racing, even as a historic medal slipped away by the narrowest of margins.

The quartet—Joseph Paul Amoah, Benjamin Azamati, Abdul Rasheed Saminu, and Fuseini—had arrived in Tokyo as genuine contenders after blazing through the heats with the fastest overall time. Under the floodlights of the National Stadium, the atmosphere was electric as Fuseini crouched in the starting blocks for Ghana’s opening leg.

He powered through in 10.55 seconds before handing the baton to Azamati, whose blistering 8.96-second burst reignited Ghana’s charge. Amoah kept the dream alive, storming the bend in 9.48 seconds to set up a dramatic finish.

On the anchor leg, Saminu—fresh from a sparkling individual 100m semi-final—unleashed everything over his 8.94-second stretch. The crowd roared as he hunted down Dutch sprinter Elvis Afrifa, but in a cruel twist, the Netherlands edged Ghana by just 0.04 seconds, claiming bronze in a national-record 37.81 seconds. Ghana crossed in 37.93, an agonising fourth place. Team USA stormed to gold (37.29) and Canada clinched silver (37.55).

“We Live to Fight Another Day”

Despite the heartbreak, the athletes spoke with grit and grace. Team captain Joseph Paul Amoah reflected, “We gave it our all. We truly believed we could medal, but fourth isn’t bad. We’ll thank God for bringing us this far.”

Anchor runner Abdul Rasheed Saminu admitted the sting of defeat but kept his eyes forward. “I wanted to chase him, but it happened. We executed well. The weather wasn’t the best, but no excuses. We live to fight another day.”

Benjamin Azamati echoed the optimism: “This shows we’re capable. We came in fit, and next time we’ll tighten the baton exchanges, hit full speed, and come back stronger.” Fuseini, clearly crushed, chose silence as his teammates spoke.

A Respectable Reward

While a medal proved elusive, Ghana’s performance did not go unrewarded. According to Sportsblog247.com, the World Athletics prize pool awarded the United States $80,000, Canada $40,000, the Netherlands $20,000, and Ghana a notable payout for finishing fourth—recognition of their world-class effort on the biggest stage.

This near miss cements Ghana’s place among sprinting’s elite and fuels belief that a podium finish is only a championship away.