Historic medal haul

-Team Ghana justifies decision to host Games

By Elvis DARKO, Accra

Team Ghana has rewritten the history books at the 2023 African Games, marking its most successful participation since the games’ inception in 1965.

Accra 2023 marked the first time Ghana hosted the Games.

Ghana secured a remarkable 68 medals, comprising 19 golds, 29 silvers, and 20 bronzes, surpassing its previous best of 27 medals attained during the 1973 Games in Lagos, Nigeria.

Medals won in each sport

The total medals Ghana won in each discipline are as follows: armwrestling – 41 (8 gold, 19 silver, and 14 bronze), boxing – 7 (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze), athletics – 6 (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), football – 2 gold, weightlifting – 3 (1 gold, 2 silver), hockey – 1 silver, taekwondo – 3 (2 silver, 1 bronze), swimming – 2 (1 silver, 1 bronze), and volleyball – 1 bronze medal.
Ghana finished sixth out of 53 participating nations, an improvement over its 15th position in the 2019 Games in Rabat.

Ghana’s most popular sport, football made history with both male and female teams winning gold at stake in their respective categories over three weeks.

Black Satellites win gold

With an impressive showing before the home crowd, the country dominated the soccer events.

It was an atmosphere filled with enormous energy, with over 40,000 fans propelling Ghana’s Black Satellites to a 1-0 win over Uganda in the finals of the 13th African Games football competition.

Jerry Afriyie’s late strike was enough for Ghana to win gold in a pulsating encounter against the Ugandans, who battled it out to the end.

Black Princesses win gold

The Black Princesses were crowned champions of the women’s football competition after beating the Falconets of Nigeria 2-1 at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.

Mukarama Abdulai came to the rescue of the hosts with a breathtaking finish to seal the comeback campaign after an exciting 120 minutes of play.

4 Gold medals in boxing

Ghana’s Black Bombers won a historic four gold medals on the final day of the men’s boxing competition at the Accra 2023 African Games.

Mohammed Aryeetey (Minimumweight – 48Kg), Amadu Mohammed (Bantamweight – 54Kg), Commonwealth silver medalist Joseph Commey (Lightweight – 60Kg), and Olympic bronze medalist Samuel Takyi (Light Welterweight -63.5Kg) all secured gold in their respective weight divisions.

This haul is the most in a single day by Ghana at any African Games Boxing competition.

It is also the most gold medal won by Ghana in a single African Games competition.

2 Silver medals in boxing

Ghana also won two silver medals, one each in the male and female divisions.

Abubakar Kamoko (Cruiserweight – 86Kg), son of Braimah Kamoko, settled for silver after losing the Cruiserweight final.

Female boxer Janet Acquah clinched the bronze medal in the women’s minimum weight (48kg) category.

One Bronze medal in boxing

Theophilus Allotey went home with bronze medal in the Flyweight (51kg) category.

One area that pulled the most crowd and attention and got rewarded for its resilience was track and fields.

With fans filling every space at every event, the athletes put on a show, claiming three gold medals in spectacular fashion.

Joe Paul wins gold in 200 meters

Joseph Paul Amoah, a former 200 meters national record holder, emerged victorious in the 200 meters men’s race with an impressive time of 20.70 seconds, clinching Ghana’s only gold on the track.

Rose Amoanimaa wins gold in women’s high jump

Rose Amoanimaa Yeboah delivered gold for Ghana in the women’s high jump event at the ongoing African Games.

The highly-rated Ghanaian high jumper cleared a height of 1.90m to clinch gold, while Guinea’s Balley Fatoumata placed second with a height of 1.81 meters.

The 21-year-old Ghanaian, after dominating the finals, tried to break the game record of 1.96 m set by South Africa’s Hestrie Cloete but was unable to.

Rose Yeboah has been sensational for Ghana over the past few years, winning gold at the 2019 African Games in Rabat and also bagging gold at the 2022 African Senior Athletics Championship in Mauritius.

Gold medal in men’s high jump

Evans Yamoah Cadman made history by securing the gold medal in the Men’s High Jump for Ghana.

He showcased his exceptional leaping prowess and culminating in an impressive performance on the continental stage.

He emerged as the sole athlete to clear the height of 2.23 meters, securing his well-deserved gold medal.

Bronze in men’s 4×100 relay

Ghana won silver in the men’s 4×100 relay with a time of 38.43 seconds.

Ghana’s quartet, namely Benjamin Azamati, Joe Paul Amoah, Edwin Gadayi, and Solomon Hammond, had a good race, but it was the hitches in the baton changes that cost them the gold medal.

Despite the loss, Ghana’s men’s quartet still holds the record for the fastest 4×100 relay men’s time at the African Games, with their 38.30-second set in Rabat back in 2019.

Bronze in women’s 4×100 relay

Despite being the favorites to win gold, Ghana’s female quartet, namely Boakye Mary, Mensah Janet, Mensah Doris, and Hor Halutie, could only settle for bronze with a time of 44.21 seconds.

Silver in Men’s Half Marathon

William Amponsah came second to win silver in the Men’s Half Marathon final in a time of 1:05:13 seconds

Ghana wins first-ever gold in women’s hockey

Ghana’s women’s hockey team edged their Nigerian counterparts 4-3 on penalty shootouts to win gold in the women’s hockey competition at the 13th African Games.

It was the first time Ghana’s women’s team won gold at the African Games since its inception in 1965, capping off an impressive display in the group stages, beating the likes of Kenya and Nigeria.

 Ghana bags silver in 3×3 Basketball Men’s Competition

Ghana secured silver in the 3×3 Basketball Men’s competition after losing 11-16 to Algeria in the final.

This marks Ghana’s first-ever medal in the history of the competition.

1 Silver, 1 Bronze in swimming

Two-time Olympian Abeiku Jackson won silver in the men’s 50m butterfly competition, becoming the first Ghanaian to win a medal in swimming at the African Games, having also recorded a personal best of 24.23 seconds in the finals.

The 24-year-old also won a bronze medal in the men’s 100-meter butterfly final with a time of 53.80 seconds.

1 Gold, 2 Silver medals in weightlifting

Winnifred Ntumi gave the country three reasons to finally smile, delivering a gold and two silver medals in weightlifting, Ghana’s first three in the competition.

The 21-year-old’s medals came in 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.

Men volleyball team wins Bronze 

Ghana Men volleyball team won Bronze at the 13th Africa Games as they defeated Cameroon 3:2

2 silver, 1 bronze in Taekwondo

In Taekwondo, Ghana won 3 medals- 2 silver, 1 bronze.

The medalists are: Kelvin Amuzu, Erica Tuagbor and Gerald Sarfo.

41 Medals in armwrestling

The hosts were also a delight to watch in the arm-wrestling events.

In an unprecedented performance, arm-wrestling took the Games by storm.

The armwrestling team, Golden Arms, won a total of 41 medals in both left and right arm events at the ongoing African Games.

President  Akufo-Addo elated

Addressing the closing ceremony, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo expressed his elation about Team Ghana’s largest medal haul in history.

He emphasized the importance of this success as a catalyst for further investment in sports development and empowering the youth to excel on the international stage.

In a congratulatory message to the contingent, President Akufo-Addo commended them for showcasing the best of Ghana to the world.

He also extended his gratitude to the people of Ghana for their belief in the government’s ability to host the Games for the first time in the nation’s history.

As the nation celebrated this unprecedented success, President Akufo-Addo urged stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to promoting sports as a tool for national development and unity.

He emphasized that together, they could harness the power of sports to build a stronger, healthier, and more prosperous Ghana for generations to come.

Some 5,000 athletes participated in this year’s African Games in 30 disciplines – an increase from the 2019 African Games, which offered 26 sports. The 2015 Games had 22 disciplines.

The 30 disciplines included eight Olympic qualifying events, 15 non-qualifying and seven demonstration sports that showcased emerging trends and disciplines.

The Olympic qualifying events comprised swimming, athletics, badminton, cycling, tennis, table tennis, wrestling and triathlon.

Demonstration sports included e-Sports, mixed martial arts, sambo and scrabble, promising what the African Union calls a “glimpse into the future of sports entertainment”.

One of the most significant legacies for Ghana is the construction of the new $145 million (€132.5 million) Borteyman Sports Complex, which comes with a 1,000-seater Olympic-sized pool, 10-lane competition pool and an eight-lane warm-up pool.

The African Games 2023 was also seen as a form of preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games which will take place in Paris in July 2024.

The African Games, formerly known as the All-African Games or the Pan-African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years.

It is organised by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC).