Ghana’s participation in Friday’s men’s 4x100m relays at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest is in serious jeopardy after two of the five-member team picked up injuries in the 200m heats on Wednesday.
National record holder, James Dadzie, did not finish his race, after pulling up injured, 80 meters into his heat. Doctors later confirmed he had aggravated a hamstring injury he has been carrying for the latter part of this season.
Joseph Paul Amoah, who has anchored Ghana’s relay team to three national records, finished 5th in his 200m heats and missed out on a place in the semi finals. He later reported he suffered a toe injury towards the end of the race.
He was subsequently taken to hospital for a scan, which revealed he ruptured his right toe.
Both were entered to run in the 4x100m heats.
The injury to the duo now means Ghana’s relay team only has three members available and fit, not enough to enter for the race. Edwin Gadayi, Isaac Botsio and Raymond French are the only three fit members of the team.
The unavailability of the duo means that Ghana Athletics officials would have to liaise with their World Athletics counterparts to ensure any potential withdrawal of the team will not come with consequences.
The turn of events is a huge blow for Team Ghana, whose participation at the Budapest championships has been nothing short of underwhelming, with long jumper Deborah Acquah exiting the competition on the very first day, missing out on a place in the women’s long jump. She later told Joy Sports in an exclusive interview that she had been battling an injury for the better part of a year.
The relays represented Ghana’s brightest hope of a noticeable participation, with the team haven’t made the final of each of the previous four global championships.
A non-participation in the race could have serious ramifications for Ghana’s chances of qualifying the team for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Making the final in Budapest would have guaranteed the team qualification to the World Relays in the Bahamas in April 2024, where the finalists would then qualify for the Olympic Games, leaving only 4 more slots for the rest to try and qualify.
Ghana could still qualify for the world relays, but the team would require substantial preparation as well as multiple races to prop them up the rankings.
