Top Ghanaian sprinter – Joseph Paul Amoah, who was the first athlete to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, will not run in the 100 meters dash.
He has explained why he dropped 100m for the 200m and the 4x100m.
Despite qualifying for the men’s 100m event having a run of 10.01 seconds at the 2019 NCAA Division I Championships, the 24-year-old sprinter has decided not to run in the 100m at the Summer Olympics in Japan.
“Would be running only the 200m and 4×100 at the Olympics Folded hands,” Mr Amoah said on his social media page on Tuesday, June 6, 2021.
The sprinter explained why he opted to compete in the 200m and the 4x100m relays during a zoom meeting organised by the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA).
According to him, he did not take the decision in isolation, but with consultation from the coaching staff as well as the technical committee of the GAA.
He decided to focus on the 200m because there’s a limited time between the 100m and the 200m events and that could distract him from full concentration.
Professor Francis Dodoo, President of GAA, explained that attempting to run both events within a limited space of time could be a recipe for disaster because it could cause injuries to an athlete so Mr Amoah has taken the right decision.
Mr Amoah is an expert in the 200 metres having run 20.08 seconds at the 2019 NCAA Division I Championships, beating the national record over the distance previously held by three-time Olympian Emmanuel Tuffour by 0.07 seconds.
Some 14 athletes will represent Ghana at the 28th Olympic Games.