Ghana’s long distance runner William Amponsah smashed the national 10,000m record at the Bryan Clay Invitational meet yesterday, after breezing to the finish line in a time of 28:00.09s while representing his school, West Texas, in the United States.
Amponsah won the hearts of thousands of Ghanaians who were in attendance to see the long distance runner take to the track at the African Games in March, despite placing 5th in the 10,000m final.
Although Amponsah placed 5th in the 10,000m event at the African Games and finished outside the podium places, he managed to smash the National record, posting a time of 29:50.99s, which broke the previous record he had set in 2020.
However, Amponsah out did himself in yesterday’s meet, finishing in a record time of 28:00.09s to place 4th in the 10,000m event at the meet, and to ultimately smash the existing national record of 29:50.99s set at the African Games.
On his way to achieving this significant national milestone, Amponsah also became the fastest man over 10,000m for West Texas and the second fastest in the NCAA Division II history, behind Scott Bauhs sizzling 27:48.06s in 2008.
Amponsah, who has clinched multiple personal accolades at Western Texas, has etched his name into the history of the renowned institution, beating Owen Hinds previous 10,000m school record of 29 minutes and 28 seconds in 2017.
The latest triumph means the distance runner holds 7 National records to his name, including 3000m short track(8:02.67), 5000m (13:40.16), Half-Marathon( 1:03.15), 10,000m ( 28:00.09s), 10km(road), 15km(road) and 10 miles(road).
Despite Amponsah’s best efforts, he still remains short of the Olympic qualifying mark which stands at 27:00.00, but could alternatively feature in the summer’s games via ranking.
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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers.ug.edu.gh
