Sports
Eyes on the relays
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France staged a historic and perhaps, the most exciting Olympic Games opening ceremony yesterday to kick start the Paris 2024 Games.
For the first time in the history of the Games, Paris staged an impressive opening ceremony outside a stadium.
When it was first announced, a few doubting ‘Thomases’ were alarmed over the arrangement put in place and others over security.
But pessimists were silenced with yesterday’s spectacular event that saw athletes parade in boats along the Seine River.
The ceremony marked a shift from the usual scenes of athletes marching around athletics tracks and dressed resplendently in attires designed in national colours with placards indicating names of their countries.
Yesterday’s invention gave participants and viewers a rare vibrant river parade that travelled through the heart of the French capital.
The river Seine replaced the traditional track with the iconic Paris landmarks creating a beautiful scene for the event.
The athletes were grouped with their national teams on the boats and ultimately arrived opposite to where official protocols were conducted, and the Olympic cauldron lit to open the 2024 Games officially.
In all, nearly 100 boats carried approximately 10,500 athletes.
As the various teams filed past, curiously, one could predict or imagine how the medal table may be like by August 11 when the Games end.
Team America was among the heavily represented sides in this edition with others including Great Britain, Australia, the Netherlands and others also parading very large contingents.
But there was also the group of countries whose numbers could compete for the smallest team prize tag at the Games, if there was one.
Ghana was in this particular group with nine members, yet poised to make an impact.
What that impact might be is what may keep Ghanaians glued to their television sets to watch which discipline and athlete would prove skeptics wrong.
Team Ghana is making appearances in athletics (men’s 100m, 200m, 4x100m), women’s high jump and swimming.
Athletes expected in action for Team Ghana comprises of Benjamin Azamati and Abdul- Rasheed Saminu (men’s 100m and men’s 4x100m), Rose Amoaniwaa Yeboah (women’s high jump), Harry Stacey (men’s 100m freestyle) and Joselle Mensah (women’s 50m freestyle).
Their times and records obviously do not present them as medal prospect, however the men’s 4x100m relay has shown much promise with their performance at the Africa Games where they lost narrowly in the finals of the 4x100m event to Nigeria in a photo finish.
The Nigerians ended on 38.41 seconds with Ghana crossing the tape on 38.43 seconds.
But they headed to Bahamas to book the Paris 2024 ticket with an improved time of 38.29 seconds to win the Olympic Qualifying Round 2 race.
That feat also recorded better individual times from each of the athletes that featured.
The height of Ghanaian optimism was the announcement of an automatic qualification to the semi-finals of the 4×100 metre race at the Games for being part of the 16 countries to have qualified from the World Relay Championship in Bahamas in May this year.
It gives the quartetsome vim ahead of the semifinal showdown, but must be aware of the nature of competition at that level.
With this background, Ghanaians have every reason to be optimistic about the chances of the relay quartet. At the semifinal stage, a little bit of hard work and concentration could ship the team to a dream final against the ‘best of the best’ relay teams, notably USA, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nigeria, Italy and a few that may be out to cause upsets.
It is a decent challenge they must embrace.
That, in no doubt should spur on other members of Team Ghana who are now considered as dark horses to make that expected impact.
By Andrew Nortey
Just a few years ago, Zinabu Issah’s life revolved around her small trading business, and competing in sports was not on her mind.
Today, the Ghanaian para-athlete stands proudly as a Commonwealth Games silver medalist, proving that determination, hard work and perseverance can transform lives in unimaginable ways.
Issah, who competes in the shot put, javelin and discus events, recalls how her journey began unexpectedly when Coach Emmanuel Sowah Anum approached her and encouraged her to try para-sports.
“I had no intention of doing any sport. I was a petty trader and one day my coach approached me and told me to take up the sport. When he first said it, I laughed because sports was not my thing.
“But he was persistent and eventually convinced me to take up the sport,” she told GNA Sports in an interview.
According to Zinabu, her decision was met with resistance from some family members and friends who questioned why a woman living with a disability would pursue field events.
She faced a lot of stereotypes and criticism, which could easily have discouraged her, but she decided to stay focused on achieving success.
“He (Coach) told me he had seen something in me and believed I could excel in the sport,” she said while expressing gratitude to her coach.
“I want to thank God first of all and also thank my coach for believing in me,” she added.
Her coach, Emmanuel Sowah in an interview, revealed that he spotted Zinabu in Kumasi in 2014 and admitted that life was very difficult for her at the time.
“I saw something in her. I knew I could make her a better field athlete despite her disability, and I personally bought her first training kit. Over the past years, she has developed impressively,” he said.
Coach Sowah said he believes Zinabu can achieve even more and hopes she can step up at the next Paralympic Games, which he is confident she will qualify for.
The road from being a trader to competing in shot put, discus and javelin has been remarkable.
Zinabu has featured in numerous international tournaments, most notably winning gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games Qualifiers Grand Prix in Marrakech, Morocco.
The success earned her recognition, including an award at the 9th Women in Sports Association (WISA) Awards, a moment she says significantly boosted her confidence and motivation.
Her latest achievement came at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she delivered a season-best throw of 8.65 metres to secure silver in the women’s F57 shot put.
That was Ghana’s first medal of the Games and, according to Zinabu, the victory has changed perceptions within her family.
“Ever since my winning moment at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, my family have praised my exploits, and I am excited about that.
“My junior sister, who in the past told me to stop and promised to give me money to start a new business, is today excited about my achievement,” she said.
With her sights now firmly set on the 2028 Paralympic Games, Zinabu is determined to continue breaking barriers.
“I am preparing for the Paralympics, and I am optimistic of qualification. My target is to go for the gold medal,” she said.
For Zinabu, the journey from being a petty trader to a Commonwealth Games medalist is more than a personal triumph is a story of resilience, belief and the power of giving opportunity a chance. –GNA
The Angel Starlight Foundation (ASF) last Friday presented assorted food items to learners and management of the Street Academy, a sports and cultural organisation in Accra.
Mrs Angel Addo, Founder of the NGO made the donation as part of her birthday celebration.
She presented bags of rice, beans, maize, gallons of cooking oil, biscuits, drinks, soap and toilet rolls.
“This is a yearly ritual for me; choosing to celebrate my birthday with children of the Academy. They are very dear to my heart,” she told the Spectator.
She said “these are underprivileged children who through no fault of theirs find themselves on the streets but have been fortunate to be picked by the Academy and are receiving care.”
He urged government and corporate Ghana to also support the Academy in order to support such children who are offered formal education and trained in skilled programmes.
Receiving the items, Dr Ataa Lartey, Founder of the Academy thanked the Foundation for the gesture which he said would go a long way to ease the burden of the Academy.
In another development, the Academy will host its annual health walk today.
The event would attract children from the Academy and those from neighbouring communities and keep fit enthusiasts.
By Spectator Reporter
