Ghanaian Athletes Upbeat

Scores of Ghanaian athletes will today line up and compete for laurels in the 16th edition of the Africa Athletics Championship in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

The athletes numbering about 28 are being accompanied by seven officials including the Chief Administrative Officer of the National Sports Council (NSC), Charles Ayeh and Sandy Osei Agyemang, Chairman of the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA).

The athletes including sprinters Eric Nkansah, Seth Amoo, Vida Amoo, Esther Dankwa, Gifty Addy and Elizabeth Amolofo are expected to win some medals for the nation at the five-day event.

In fact, Vida Anim would rub shoulders with her Nigerian counterparts for the 100 and 200 meters gold medal whilst Eric Nkansah battles Olusoji Fasuba, the current Africa king in the 100 and 200 meters also of Nigeria, not forgetting another Nigerian, Deji Aliu.

Ghana will however miss two medal hopefuls and current African champions in long jump and heptathlon, Ignatius Gaisah and Margaret Simpson respectively.

In a related development, African athletics legends yesterday graced the African Athletics Hall of Fame Gala in Addis Ababa.

Among the legendary stars who were at the ceremony were legendary Kenyan Kipchoge Keino, Namibian sprint king Frankie Fredericks, and Senegalese 400m runner Amy Mbacke Thiam.

“I am very happy to be here,” said a delighted Keino at the Addis Ababa Hilton where he and other Hall of Fame inductees were accommodated during their stay in Addis Ababa.

Moroccan middle distance star Hicham El Guerrouj, Mozambican runner Maria Mutola, and Algeria's Hassiba Boulmerka were also some of the athletes in the Ethiopian capital in the 1st ever CAA African Athletics Hall of Fame Gala.

By Charles Nixon Yeboah