Ghana’s national 100m record holder Benjamin Azamati has secured a place at the forthcoming Olympic Games via ranking.
The 100m sprinter finished in 39th place in the official athletics world ranking, thereby sealing his place in Paris.
The qualification route to the Olympics was a dual path, through the entry mark (which stood at 10.00s), or the [World Athletic] ranking of athletes during the qualifying period.
Azamati opened his outdoor season at the African Games and, after being riddled by injuries in the last 18 months, the former University of Ghana student has found his feet.
His sensational 10.05s season’s best finish took him closer to the Olympic qualifying mark but, despite not meeting the mark, the time and finish (1st) added more points to his overall tally.
For the second successive Olympic Games, Azamati will feature for team Ghana’s 4x100m quartet, as well as running the individual 100m event.
Azamati, alongside Rasheed Saminu — who finished 54th in the 100m ranking and met the entry standard for the 200m — will represent Ghana from the commencement of the Games on July 26, 2024.
How did Azamati get to Paris ?
Azamati was down, but definitely not out in his battle to make it to Paris. But one thing remained a constant feature and evident throughout the renowned athletes journey to Paris — he was made to labour.
After a 10.45s finish at the African Games 100m final, the sprinter emplaned to the States to compete in different and high-profile meets to get back to his best.
His training paid off as he run a 10.03s in his next event in Texas, albeit with an illegal wind (+3.9).
Being unperturbed, the Ghanaian put up a 10.23s finish at the USATF Grand Prix, making it a season’s best finish at the time on May 18.
Seven days later, and Azamati was at it again, looking to further run down his time — and at the Prefontaine Classic’s, he did just that; blazing to a 10.21s finish.
One thing had become a recurring trend; the sprinters ability to run down his time after every meet.
But the USATF Grand Prix in New York cast a shadow of doubt on his progress as he crossed the finish line in 10.31s (-0.7) wind.
The Paavo Nurmi Games on June 18, marked three months of outdoor season for the former University of Ghana man and he took it with aplomb, easing to the finish line in a 10.12s finish (+3.8 wind) in the heats and 10.14s in the final.
There was considerable progress made on his times, and by the time the Motonet Gp came about on June 22, it was no messing about.
The 26-year-old sprinter annexed gold in a 10.05s finish, becoming the Ghanaian’s fastest time since running 10.04s at the NCAA Division II Outdoor on May 27, 2021.
Although its been 3 years since Azamati run a sub 10 (with his last coming at the 93rd Clyde Texas Relays on March 26, 2021), the Ghanaian will need to be at his uttermost best at the Olympic Games to take down house hold names such as Letsile Tebogo, Ferdinand Omanyala, Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley, Kenny Bednarek, Kishane Thompson, Oblique Seville, and Olympic champion Marcel Jacobs.
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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers.ug.edu.gh
