Bad leadership cost us medals — Lutterodt

A former chairman of the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA), George Haldane Lutterodt, has blamed bad leadership and lack of foresight for Ghana’s below average performance in athletics at the recently ended All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo.

Mr Lutterodt described as shameful and disgraceful Ghana’s inability to get a single gold in track and field events despite the GAA claims of making huge progress in the discipline over the past six years.

He cited the Professor Dodoo-led administration for lacking competence and proper planning with little knowledge of how to manage athletes in these modern times.

Ghana won eight medals in athletics, including two bronze and six silver. The medals included those won for para sports.

But Mr Lutterodt wants the policy for athletics in the country changed. He noted that the only way out for a prosperous Ghana athletics was to focus on homegrown talents.

“All other countries who have had success on the continent with respect to athletics have resorted to developing talents from their backyard, but in Ghana our athletes are sent abroad to train, are not monitored, not mentored”, he stated.

According to him, after six years of Professor Francis Dodoo’s policy of ferrying athletes abroad, largely on scholarship to train for competitions, the time had come for such talents to be based at home to be properly mentored and monitored.

He said the excuse that we don’t have the facilities in the country cannot hold since past athletes have won gold using the same facilities and structures.

Mr Lutterodt lauded the success of the athletes but added that with a better plan and policy, Ghanaian athletes could obtain gold medals like their counterparts in Nigeria are currently doing.

“After six years it is a shame that the Prof. Dodoo-led administration cannot account for any gold medal in major championships,” he said.

He charged them to do better and initiate a better policy to save athletics which according to him, is in the doldrums.