Foreign-Based Athletes Impress

Ghana’s foreign-based athletes continue to impress in the USA as they bid to make qualifying times to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Alex Amankwah, Solomon Afful and Gemma Acheampong held high the flag of Ghana at the weekend’s fixture of the US championships season with performances leading to new Personal Best times.

Amankwah showed his quality in the 800 event clocking a Personal Best of 1:45.91.

In the 200m event, Afful clocked a personal best of 20.68m while Acheampong produced a spirited display to fetch an 11.49secs Personal Best in the 100m.

Flings Owusu-Agyapong produced a seasonal best of 11.42s in the 100m; Lynette Akai stormed to a seasonal best in the 400m with a time of 54.88s (accompanied by a personal best in the 200m), as well as a pair of personal bests by Atsu Nyamadi in the discus (45.49m) and 110m hurdles (14.86s), all of which, with his personal best last week in the pole vault, could get him even closer to the World Championship decathlon qualifying mark of 8050.

At the NJCAA Region VI Championship, Lydia Mato had 38 points for Barton County College by winning the 800m, 1500m, and 5000m, and second place photo finish in the 10,000m.

Last week, Agnes Abu of Wiley College similarly scored 38 points for her college in an almost identical fashion, winning the 800m, 1500m, and 3000m, and also got edged out into second place photo finish in the 5,000m.