The 2024 Confederation of Africa Athletics (CAA) Region II Athletics championship
Edwin Kwabla Gadayi won Gold, surpassing his closest rival with a time of 10.28s. Gadayi stated after his victory that, coming into the competition, they had it at the back of their minds that it was an Olympic qualifier, so they prepared really well for the championship.
“At the beginning, we knew that this was an Olympic qualifier, so we prepared well for it. Although when I was coming, I wasn’t part of the 100m race, but when I got here, the coaches said I had to take part, so I just set my mind to it and I’m here today.”
Esther Obenewa also won Gold in the women’s High Jump with a height of 1.79m. Despite winning a gold medal, Obenewa believes she should have made a better height than what she achieved.
“Going forward, I will train very hard and prepare myself for any future competitions, so that I can jump higher. I had aimed to reach a certain mark, but unfortunately, I couldn’t achieve it. However, I hope that with better training, I will be able to reach it.”
One of Ghana’s finest distance runners, Ishmael Arthur, produced a sensational run to finish first in the men’s 10,000m with the time of 28:11.79. Ishmael believes that his hard work during training sessions with his coach, WO Moro 1, made the race look easy for him.
“It’s all about good preparation. When you train hard, running 10,000m becomes easy. It’s all about the coach giving me a good program. It’s coach WO Moro 1, and he has been supporting me, pushing me, saying, ‘Ishmael, you can do it.’ And today, I’ve made it, making Ghana Armed Forces proud.”
Ghana’s female quartet, Deborah Acheampong, Janet Mensah, Mary Boakye and Hor Halutie electrified the whole UG stadium with breathtaking performance to win the women’s 4x100m event.
Faustina Owusu emerged as the winner in the Women’s Discus, tallying Ghana’s Gold medals to five on day one.
Day two of the CAA Region II Athletics championship continues tomorrow, starting from 9:00 am to 3:00 PM, at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium.
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