Accra, the capital city of Ghana, is currently hosting the 13th African Games. The country won the right to host the 2023 event in 2018, however, COVID-19 had it delayed until 2024.
The games are expected to attract over 13,000 participants, including officials, athletes, media, and volunteers from fifty-four (54) African countries.
According to the Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, Ghana spent a whopping $195 million on infrastructure for the events. However, despite these colossal sums of taxpayers’ money, there have been challenges both in logistics and infrastructure since the start of the games.
Though some of these challenges have put a blot on the games, some of the Ghanaian athletes have brought glory to the nation and we at Pulse Ghana chronicled four of these positives from the ongoing games.
1 . Abeiku Jackson: Ghanaian swimmer Abeiku Gyekye Jackson clinched a silver medal at the African Games becoming the second Ghanaian athlete to achieve a podium finish in the tournament.
Jackson’s feat was accomplished in the Men’s 50m Butterfly race held at the Aquatic Centre of the Borteyman Sports Complex.
Aged 24, Jackson completed the race with a time of 24.23 seconds, trailing behind Egyptian contender Ali Khalafalla, who secured the gold with a swift time of 23.93 seconds. South Africa’s Jarden Eaten claimed the bronze medal with a time of 24.42 seconds.
2 . Winnifred Ntumi: Ghanaian weightlifter, Winnifred Ntumi, gave the country three reasons to finally smile, delivering a gold and two silver medals on Sunday, the host nation’s first three in the competition.
The 21-year-old’s medals came to the 49-kilogram Snatch and the 49-kilogram Clean and Jerk categories, where she claimed the two silver medals, with the gold coming in the overall 49kg category at the GCB Hall of the University of Ghana.
In the Snatch category, Ntumi’s performance of 63 secured her second place behind Mauritius’ Sheridane Pasnin (64), who clinched gold, with Madagascar’s Ny Hasina Andrimitantsoa Zo Lalainarinirina (60) completing the podium places.
3 . Completion of Legon Sports Stadium: The stadium, with a seating capacity of 10,000, was officially commissioned on March 1 and hosted the opening ceremony on March 8th. Commissioning the stadium, the Vice President said “The history of the African Games is tied with the history of the continent.
“I believe it is common knowledge that the Great Pan African and First President of the Republic of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah is a founding member of the Games. The Games thus inhabit the Spirit of Africa and Pan-Africanism.
4 . Completion of the Borteyman Sports Complex: A first-class facility, that boasts an aquatic center with a 10-lane swimming pool, two indoor sports halls, and a tennis court, among others, Borteyman will be at the heart of the action as it hosts more than 10 sporting disciplines during the games.
It is 100 acres of land acquired from the University of Ghana. It was supposed to be a one-stop sports complex with a 50k seater Stadium.
Pulse
