Ghana’s 4x100m quartet of Isaac Botsio, Benjamin Azamati, Ibrahim Fuseini, and Joseph Paul Amoah were disqualified after dropping the baton in heat 1 of the World Relay event.
In a rare occurrence of a baton falling to the ground, the 15,000 seater Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas, witnessed a one-off moment as the African Games silver medalist stunned the world.
The said incident occurred when Isaac Botsio, who run the second leg, failed to swiftly hand the baton to Benjamin Azamati, leading to the dropping of the baton, which goes against the rules of the relay competition.
However, the team managed to place last (8th) in the heat with a time of 42.70s, albeit being disqualified.
Team USA on the other hand, led by the imperious Noah Lyles, finished heat 1 in a world-leading time of 37.49s, while 2021 and Olympic relay champions Italy finished second in a season’s best of 38.14s to secure automatic Olympic Qualification.
The latest stutter dims Ghana’s chances of qualifyling for the Olympic Games, making a top two finish on Day 2 a must for team Ghana.
Team Ghana, however, has a shot at redemption and an opportunity to make the summer’s Olympic Games if they are able to finish in a top two spot, which gives the team an automatic qualification.
Standing in the way of Ghana are African Games champions Nigeria, Netherlands, Thailand, Dominican Republic, Korea, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers.ug.edu.gh
