Weightlifting boss: Qualifying for Rio Olympics is not our priority

Ghana Weightlifting Federation president Ben Nunoo Mensah has revealed qualifying for this year’s Rio Olympics is not their priority.

So far only one Ghanaian, Alex Amkwah- a track and field athlete, has qualified for the games.

The Weightlifting team will go for their qualifiers in Yaounde this coming May with the hope that Forester Osei or Christian Amoah will qualify for the games.

But leader of the Association, Ben Nunoo Mensah, says they won’t be disappointed if no athlete from their camp fails to qualify.

“It is not going to worry us or affect our development programme, the Olympics is big and you need to prepare well, people have been preparing for the past four years for the Olympics and for me if Weightlifting is going to add up to the numbers then is better we don’t go,” he told Joy Sports

“I see the lift that those going for the Olympics are making and I don’t see any of my weightlifters winning a medal at the Olympic games but the exposure is good."

“If I have resources to send athletes to the Olympic games and the same resources to send youth athletes to the World youth championship and the commonwealth youth games or African youth games I will rather prefer the nation spends that monies on those championships where we know we are definitely bound to excel rather than just going to add up to the numbers in Rio."

He added that going to Rio is simply not the priority of the federation

“Whatever it is,going to the Olympics is good and if we get an athlete to go fine but for us the Weightlifting federation it is not our priority.”

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Story by Ghana/Joy Sports/Benedict Owusu