African Games: Organisation could have been better, says athletics coach

Ghana’s athletics coach, Harry Adu, has provided a candid assessment of the organisation of the 2023 African Games, suggesting that it could have been better despite some positive aspects.

The 2023 African Games concluded on Saturday after three weeks of intense competition. Ghana, hosting the event for the first time in its history, welcomed approximately five thousand athletes from fifty-three countries. Egypt emerged as the top medalist, securing a total of 189 medals, including a remarkable 101 gold medals.

However, the early stages of the competition were marred by reports of organizational failures, with athletes, particularly Ghanaian athletes, expressing dissatisfaction with various aspects of the arrangements. Some athletes reported broken bicycles, while others were transported to venues in less-than-ideal conditions, including sitting in the buckets of a car. Additionally, makeshift podiums branded with paper drew criticism.

During an interview on Warm Up Plus on TV3, Harry Adu voiced his discontent with the organization. While acknowledging some positives, Adu believed that improvements could have been made.

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“From expectations and everything, it could have been better, to be truthful, it could have been better but for now I will say for the first time it was okay,” he said.

In contrast, Ghana’s athletics coach and legendary athlete, Ignatius Gaisah, offered a more positive perspective, expressing satisfaction with the organization of the competition. Gaisah highlighted the enthusiasm of the Ghanaian spectators and called upon the government to invest more in athletics to promote the sport in the country.

Despite winning 68 medals at the 2023 African Games, no Ghanaian has qualified for the Paris Olympic Games yet.

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“It has been great because it is the first time Ghana is hosting such a big event and looking at how people came in the stadium from the beginning of the athletics, you could see people in Ghana love athletics,” he said.

“It is a matter of the government to invest a little bit in athletics so that athletics can bring home a lot of medals,” he added.

Gaisah also explained how the various athletes are selected to compete.

“What we basically do is when we have to go for national assignments, then the national teams will call upon them because they will look at their times and see who has qualified because you cannot just come here and say I am a Ghanaian so I’m coming to compete, you need to earn it,” he further stated.

As attention shifts to the next Paris Olympics qualification event, Gaisah and Harry will focus on securing qualification for various disciplines, as no Ghanaian athlete managed to qualify through the 2023 African Games.

Nevertheless, the 13th African Games saw Ghana clinch its largest medal haul of 68 since it’s inception underscoring  the competitions significance to the host nation.

Frank-Kamal Acheampong|3Sports|Ghana

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