Ghana's search for new athletes

The search for new athletes in Ghana.

The finals of the ‘Fastest Human’ competition in Ghana saw new talent upset last year’s winners to emerge champions.

Joseph Paul Amoah upset last year’s winner in the senior male category.

“This competition has really brought out the best in me, I wanted this and yeah, I got it. And everyone is proud of me, I’m happy for myself too.”

Reks Brobby, competition founder said “It takes an athlete about four to six years to peak. They have to fall flat on their face. They have to pull muscles, they have to go home and cry. It’s all a process. It takes about four to six years of that, and that’s what we’re looking at. To find athletes that in the next four to six years will be world champions.”

Regional competitions were held in all 10 regions in Ghana in the U-10, U-15, U-18 ‘& seniors categories ahead of the finals at the Baba Yara Sports stadium

The annual sprint competition which started in 2013 is focused on unearthing 100m talents to represent the country in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.

“We’re starting on raw talent. We’re monitoring what the athletes are going to be eating, what they are going to be thinking about, how their muscle is going to react, and have hands on training on them for one year. That hasn’t been done before. So that is what we are trying to do, Jamaica has put a focus on athletics. We are putting a focus on sprints to start with and then expand that theory as we go on to the jumps, to the throws, to the distance runs and so forth”, Reks Brobby added.

The best athletes from the competition will join a ‘speedsters club’ to undergo a residential training programme meant to prepare them for major international tournaments.

AFP