Martha Bissah stopped in her tracks
Suspended national athlete, Martha Bissah, was virtually stopped in her tracks as she prepared to compete in the just-ended National Athletics Championship in Cape Coast last Saturday.
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The gold medallist at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing was warming up to compete in the two-lap event at the newly-constructed stadium, having reached an agreement with the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) to allow her to participate in the light of a ban imposed on her by the country’s athletics authorities for alleged indiscipline.
Briefing the Graphic Sports on the rather strange turn of events in Cape Coast, a spokesperson for Martha, Kwaku Nimako, said that ahead of the championship, the young athlete met with officials of GAA for an amicable settlement of their differences after which it was agreed to allow her to compete.
The GAA, according to Mr Nimako, asked Martha to prepare for the competition following which the young athlete proceeded to the Cape Coast Stadium.
“When it was 8:20 a.m. for the 800 metres final to start, Martha went to the changing room to prepare for the race only to be told she had been banned and that she could’nt compete,” a bewildered Mr Nimako told the Graphic Sports on phone yesterday.
However, the GAA in reaction insisted that Martha's indefinite suspension could only be overturned if she wrote an apology letter to the association for allegely bringing the name of the association into disrepute.
The Secretary General of GAA, Phillipina Frimpong, explained to the Graphic Sports that the executives of GAA met with Martha and her guardian, Micky Osei Berko, last week and both parties agreed that she must apologise for her actions by writing an apology letter.
"She owes us an apology letter and she hasn't brought it yet," Ms Frimpong said when quizzed about Martha's absence from the 800m field last Saturday.
"We don't know why she came there because at the last meeting that's what we discussed. She came along with Micky (Osei Berko) and it was agreed [she must first apologise before competing]."