Despite being defeated and dejected in Tokyo, the Ghanaian 4x100m relay team was determined to pursue the nation’s first global sprint medal.
Last weekend at the Japan National Stadium, the team of Ibrahim Fuseini, Benjamin Azamati, Joseph Paul Amoah, and Abdul-Rasheed Saminu ran two sub-38-second races, which surprised everyone. The final, the following Sunday, denied them a spot on the podium.
Missing the Medal Cut
Ghana’s team seemed ready to break their medal drought after their semi-final win.
Despite Saminu’s excellent time of 37.93 seconds on the rain-soaked track in the final, Noah Lyles, Andre De Grasse, and Raphael Afrifa beat him, leaving Ghana in fourth.
It felt like a repeated series of close calls. Ghana finished fifth in the 4x100m final at Eugene, USA, in 2023. They advanced again, and the camp’s message was obvious: Ghana will soon succeed.
“We can do it,” declared veteran sprinter Azamati, rallying his teammates after the disappointment. “We came fifth last time, now we’re fourth. I believe we will make the podium at the next World Championships. We need to regroup, fix our baton exchanges, and sharpen our speed.”
Amoah says the team’s Tokyo performance comes from solid preparation, with funding from the Ghana Olympic Committee. He promptly reminded officials that steady support would separate those who ‘almost made it’ from medalists.
“We gave it our all. Two sub-38s in one weekend, you can’t ask for much more,” he said. “We had a good camp, good energy, quality coaches. This is proof that with the right systems, we can go higher.”
Positive showings
Ghana’s individual athletes offered fresh hope outside of the relays. The national 100m record holder, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, ran 10.08 seconds in the semi-finals, very close to the final.
At her first World Championships, Rose Amoanimaa Yeboah, the 22-year-old “golden girl” of Ghana, reached the final, introducing herself to the world.
Though she didn’t get past 1.93m and placed 15th, her potential is clear.
Meanwhile, Fuseini and Azamati didn’t advance in the 200m and 100m, though their relay success highlighted Ghana’s sprinting gains.
Credit: Maurice Quansah/Graphic Sports
