African Athletics Championships: Amoah, Saminu, Gadayi through to 100m semis

Ghana’s male sprint stars powered into the semi-finals amid a night of high drama and contrasting emotions as the 24th African Athletics Championships exploded into life at the University of Ghana Stadium in Legon yesterday.

While Joseph Paul Amoah, Abdul Rasheed Saminu and Edwin Gadayi safely negotiated the opening round of the men’s 100 metres, Ghana’s young female sprinters endured a difficult baptism on the continental stage in front of an expectant home crowd.

The championships roared into action with the men’s decathlon, long jump and 400m hurdles, but the atmosphere inside the packed stadium reached another level once the sprinters exploded from the blocks.

Amoah, Saminu and Gadayi all finished second in their respective heats to book places in today’s semi-finals, setting up potentially explosive contests against some of Africa’s fastest men.

However, Ghana’s women’s sprint challenge suffered early setbacks as Aishatu Jaffar and Leticia Ohenewaa failed to progress from their heats, while Janet Mensah saw her race unravel after a false start before reacting late at the restart.

Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma underlined her credentials as one of the women’s sprint favourites with a commanding victory in Heat Two, clocking 11.44 seconds with apparent ease.

Ghana’s task has been made even tougher by the absence of several key athletes. US-based sprinters Deborah Acheampong and Hor Halutie missed the championships because of commitments to collegiate competitions in the United States, while African high jump champion Rose Yeboah and sprint stars Benjamin Azamati and Safo Ansah were ruled out through injury.

However, amid the setbacks, there were enough flashes of promise to keep local fans energised. Evonne Britton stormed to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles, while Florence Agyemang, nicknamed “Aviator”, delivered an assured run to finish second in her women’s 400m heat and advance to today’s semi-finals.

She is also expected to feature prominently in Ghana’s 4x400m relay campaign.

In the absence of some of the country’s more established female athletes, Ghana Athletics turned boldly to a new generation of schoolgirl sprinters to face Africa’s elite on the sport’s grandest continental platform.

Jaffar, popularly known as “Odo Broni”, from TI Ahmadiyyah SHS, and Ohenewaa of St Louis SHS in Kumasi, embraced the occasion despite failing to advance.

For Jaffar, the experience itself represented a major breakthrough.

“It was difficult racing against such experienced athletes, but competing on such a big stage motivated me to push harder and achieve my personal best,” she told the Daily Graphic after the race.

“I can’t wait for the 4x100 relay.”

Another teenage sensation, Gladys Boateng, affectionately called “Gaza” after her breakout performances during the Ashanti Region Super Zonal competition, is also expected to compete in the women’s 200m and 4x100m relay.

The sacrifices demanded of Ghana’s young athletes were further exposed last night when Jaffar and 17-year-old Portia Nkrumah, a final-year student of Sammo SHS in Cape Coast, left the national camp immediately after competing to travel to Kumasi and Cape Coast respectively to sit their WASSCE Oral English examinations today.

Nkrumah, who ran a personal best in the women’s 400m heats, is expected to return in time to compete in Ghana’s 4x400m relay later this evening.

Athletics coach Emmanuel Gyefa dismissed suggestions that the jump from senior high school competition to elite continental athletics was too steep for the teenagers.

“We can only produce champions through exposure and experience,” Coach Gyefa, popularly known as Coach Saga, explained.

“Putting them on this stage is crucial for their development. They qualified on merit and deserve to be here.”

Attention tonight will also shift to Ghana’s long-distance hope, William Amponsah, who enters the men’s 10,000m determined to dethrone the East African giants after claiming silver at the previous championships.

The US-based record holder is fully aware of the challenge posed by the traditional powerhouses from Kenya and Ethiopia, but he is no longer intimidated by them.

“I’ve raced against them several times, and I know I can beat them now,” Amponsah declared confidently.

“I took silver last time, so this time I’m going for gold.

“It’s good seeing Ghanaians around the stadium. Their support excites me, but the Holy Spirit is my advantage. Ghanaians should expect something special from this race and future competitions.”