2002 Athletes of the Year: Simpson & Zakari

Ghana Athletes Association, in conjuction with Ghanaweb, is proud to announce that Margaret Simpson and Aziz Zakari have been voted as the female and male 2002 Athlete of the Year (AOY) respectively. Both athletes won convincingly with Margaret Simpson capturing all but one vote. Margaret Simpson’s year was highlighted by the bronze medal she won at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, followed by her gold medal/national record performance at the 2002 African Championships. Her season can be summarized as one of the best ever by a Ghanaian female athlete. Her awesome achievements in 2002 include three national records in two events (heptathlon and high Jump), and an amazing 4 personal bests in 3 events. Summary of her stats in 2002 are as follows: Heptathlon     6105pts in Tunisia 07/08/2002 (GM/NR)* 5906pts in Manchester, 27/07/2002 (BM)* 6004pts in Arles, 02/06/2002 (NR)* 100m Hurdles 13.55 sec in Arles 01/06/2002 (PB)* High Jump     1.84 meters (NR, PB)* *GM-gold medal, BM-bronze medal, NR-national record, PB-personal best   Aziz Zakari’s year was highlighted by an amazing 6 appearances at IAAF Golden League competitions and over 12 Grand Prix competitions in 2002. His season was capped with a silver medal at the 2002 African Games (200m) and the subsequent selection (4 X 100m) onto the African team for the 2002 World Cup in Athletics in Spain. The African team won a record 4th straight team title. Summary of his stats in 2002 are as follows:   100metes   10.15 secs in Monaco 19/06/2002 (SB)* 10.16 secs in Luzern, 26/06/2002 10.18 secs in Zagreb, 08/07/2002 200 meters   20.29 secs in Manchester, 29/07/2002 20.33 secs (w) in Tunis, 10/08/2002 20.52 secs in Linz, 19/08/2002 *SB-season best

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