Ghanaian duo impresses in South Africa

Ghana's William Osei Kankam placed fifth at the maiden Olympia Amateur Africa 2014 Bodybuilding Championships in Carnival City, Johannesburg, last Sunday.

Kankam, a debutante on the international scene, braved through a tough prejudging session to make the nation proud at Africa's version of the World Olympia Championships.

The only female bodybuilder in the four-member team, Bambi Bamfo, also made an impressive international debut by placing sixth in a keenly-contested Female Bikini Fitness category.

It was a significant acheivement for Bambi, a professional nurse and coordinator of the Ghana Bodybuilding and Fitness Association (GBFA), who has risen rapidly since her introduction to the sport.

Two other members of the Ghana team, Oliver Prempeh and Jude Gadzekpo, however, failed to qualify from the prejudging stage.

Gadzekpo told the Graphic Sports yesterday after the team's return on Monday night that the stress he had to go through during the visa processing really affected his conditioning but still relished the unique opportunity of gracing the international stage and also securing an International Federation of Body Building (IFBB) card.

The president of the GBFA, Abdul-Hayye Yartey, was particularly excited about the nation's opportunity to participate in the Mr Olympia competition was the first time.

He noted that the four bodybuilders made history for themselves by getting the IFBB international card for the first time.

He was full of praise for Bambi for doing so well in her first international competition, considering her background in the sport.