by Silas Boahene | May 19, 2024 | Africa, Athletics, Europe, Ghana, International
With the Paris Summer Olympics fast approaching, Ghanaian athletes are intensifying their efforts to secure their spots for the games. Currently, only Ghana’s 4x100m men’s relay team has qualified, while individual events remain up for grabs.
This past weekend saw several Ghanaian athletes competing to meet the qualification standards:
- Rose Yeboah, African Games High Jump Champion, won gold at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a height of 1.82m, still 15cm short of the 1.97m automatic qualification mark.
- Saminu Abdul Rasheed achieved a personal best of 10.03 seconds in the men’s 100m and also claimed gold in the 200m with a time of 20.34 seconds at the AAC Outdoor Championships.
- Ibrahim Fuseni, who narrowly missed a medal at the African Games, won gold in both the 100m (10.15 seconds) and 200m (20.32 seconds) at the Southland Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
- Isaac Botsio, the newest member of Ghana’s 4x100m relay team, defended his 100m title at the Lone Star Conference with a time of 10.18 seconds.
- Deborah Acheampong ran the 8th fastest time in West Texas A&M athletics history, recording 23.53 seconds to win gold in the 200m at the Lone Star Conference Championships.
- William Amponsah, Ghana’s long-distance star, won his first Lone Star Conference Outdoor Championship title in the men’s 10,000m with a time of 31:03.85 minutes.
The qualification standards are stringent, with the men’s 100m requiring a time of 10.00 seconds flat and the 200m requiring 20.16 seconds. Athletes have until June 30 to meet these marks and qualify for the Olympics.
by Silas Boahene | May 19, 2024 | Africa, Athletics, Ghana, International
President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), Ben Nunoo Mensah, has addressed allegations made by Deborah Acquah regarding unfulfilled promises following her participation in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
In an interview with Joy Sports, Acquah claimed that Nunoo Mensah promised to support her Achilles injury treatment after she won a bronze medal in Birmingham, despite competing with an injury. However, she alleged that this support was never provided.
Responding to these allegations on “Game Plan” on Friday, May 17, Nunoo Mensah clarified that he did not persuade Acquah to compete with an injury. “I met her together with Mr. Karl Tuffour and she told me she had been injured for some time… but she wouldn’t even have come to the competition or she came to the competition and competed on injury. It means I am not the one who had convinced her to come to Birmingham,” he explained.
Nunoo Mensah emphasized that the GOC does not control athletes’ day-to-day activities outside international games. Regarding the support conversation, he said, “When she said she was injured, I said ‘after the competition come to Ghana. It’s likely that those who won medals will meet the president.’ The meeting with the Presidency for medal winners never happened, but we made sure that whatever money was due to her for winning the medal was given to her.”
He also mentioned that although the meeting with the Presidency did not occur, all due financial rewards were provided. Additionally, he fulfilled his promise to put Acquah on an Olympic Scholarship. “Deborah is currently on a GOC Scholarship where she gets $750 a month since after I met her,” he stated.
by Silas Boahene | May 19, 2024 | Africa, Athletics, Ghana, International
Ghana’s women’s long jump record holder, Deborah Acquah, has shared her disheartening experience at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, revealing she was denied financial support while two other athletes received aid from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
“The only thing that broke my heart was what happened in Budapest [last year],” Acquah said in an interview with JoySports. She recounted how officials questioned her about a previous interview with JoySports Editor Fentuo Tahiru, where she mentioned unfulfilled promises of support from Ghana without naming anyone specifically.
When pressed, Acquah identified Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) President Ben Nunoo Mensah as the source of the promise. Despite this, she was left feeling overlooked and undervalued when she did not receive the $8,000 financial support given to her peers, Joseph Paul Amoah and James Dadzie.
Seeking clarification from Ghana Athletics President Mr. Bawah Fuseini, Acquah was told she wouldn’t receive the money because her injury occurred while she was in school, implying that her school should cover her needs. This response shocked her, especially since other athletes who had also faced injuries received support.
During discussions, it was suggested that the responsibility for her promised funds might fall back on Ben Nunoo Mensah. However, Mr. Bawah later informed her that Mr. Nunoo Mensah denied making any promises, leaving Acquah without the support she had hoped for.
Deborah Acquah, who won a bronze medal for Ghana at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August 2022, expressed her disappointment and frustration over the unfair treatment she experienced.
by Silas Boahene | May 19, 2024 | Africa, Athletics, Ghana, International
Ghanaian track and field athletes have expressed their frustration on social media regarding the treatment of the tartan tracks at the University of Ghana Stadium during the WAFU B U-17 tournament.
These tracks, installed for the 2023 African Games, are the only certified running tracks in the country. Athletes are concerned about the damage caused by placing sharp-edged chairs on the home straight side of the track during the Ghana vs CĂ´te d’Ivoire opening game on Wednesday. The lack of protective covers could lead to perforations, potentially compromising the track’s certification status.
Joseph Paul Amoah, a gold medalist in the 200m, voiced his frustration on Instagram, stating, “That’s our only certified track for Christ’s sake.” Fellow athlete Ibrahim Fuseini, who placed fourth in the men’s 200m final at the African Games, added, “It’s about time we need to stop doing this. This is the only track we have in Ghana now,” accompanied by a crying emoji. Solomon Hammond, a member of the silver-winning 4x100m relay team, also expressed his dismay, saying, “This can’t be happening on the only certified track we have in Ghana now,” ending with a sad face emoji.
by Silas Boahene | May 19, 2024 | AFCON, Africa, Ghana, International, Soccer
The Black Challenge team has departed from Ghana to Egypt to defend their title in the 2024 Africa Amputee Cup of Nations (AAFCON). The team left early on Saturday morning, May 18, 2024.
Dressed in their official Accra 2023 African Games attire, all 25 players and the technical team traveled via Africa World Airlines with a layover in Lagos, Nigeria.
As the reigning champions of the Accra 2023 1st African Para Games, the team, led by Coach Stephen Richard Obeng, exudes confidence in their ability to retain the trophy and secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup. They concluded their pre-tournament camp in Accra on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Drawn into Group C, Ghana will compete against Kenya, Gambia, and Algeria. Their opening match is against Gambia on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 21:30 hours.
