Ghana was duly rewarded at the 2023 edition of the African Canoe Sprint Championships with two medals, both being bronze.
This year’s edition of the championship, which also served as the 2024 Paris Para Canoe Qualifiers was held in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria.
The event was held from the 22nd to the 25th of November, with athletics from fifteen (15) African countries participating in the championship for a spot in the Paris Olympics.
The Olympic event’s categories were as followed; C1 200M Women, C2 500M Women, C1 1000M Men C2 500M Men, K1 1000M Men, K2 500M Men, K1 500M Women and K2 500M Women.
The winner in each category qualified directly to the 2024 Paris Olympics while the 2nd and 3rd would have to explore other windows of qualification to compete in Paris in 2024.
After a fierce contest which lasted for four days, South Africa emerged victorious with a total of 10 medals consisting of 9 gold Medals and 1 bronze medal.
Nigeria came second with a total of 9 medals to their credit with 4 gold Medals, 4 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal. The athletes from Tunisia placed third with a total of 15 medals – 3 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 7 bronze medals.
Team Ghana ended the championship in 10th position with only two bronze medals while Seychelles and Ivory Coast left with no medal to their name.
The results implied Ghana’s failure to achieve automatic qualification to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games; hence, the team would have to explore other means of qualification for a spot in the Games.
2023 Canoe Sprint/Para Canoe African Championship and 2024 Olympics Qualifiers Final Medals Table (ABUJA 2023)
1. South Africa – 9 Gold 0 Silver 1 bronze
2. Nigeria – 4 Gold 4 Silver 1 Bronze
3. Tunisia – 3 Gold 5 Silver 7 Bronze
4. Senegal – 3 Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze
5. Algeria – 2 Gold 7 Silver 4 Bronze
6. Angola – 2 Gold 1 Silver 4 Bronze
7. Egypt – 1 Gold 6 Silver 5 Bronze
8. Mozambique – 1 Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze
9. Morocco – 1 Gold 1 Silver 0 Bronze
10. Ghana – 0 Gold 0 Silver 2 Bronze
11. Sao Tome – 0 Gold 0 Silver 2 Bronze
12 Seychelles – 0 Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze
13 Ivory Coast – Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze
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Story by: David Kwaku Dzaku | univers.ug.edu.gh