How Team Ghana fared at the Olympic Games in Brazil

Ghana presented 16 athletes for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. The humble quest for a medal in Rio ended up to be just participation.

Somehow, Ghana knew for our first Olympic male and female swimmers, a medal was not on the cards as their respective times were not good enough.

For the 4x100m relay team, they was hope. Hope that vanished into the air like Simone Biles springing into the spotlight. They went into their race in Rio as the best ranked women’s relay team in Africa, and ended it as the worst relay women’s team at Rio 2016 except for disqualified Brazil and Kazakhstan.

From the grace of hope to the grass of despair, here is how Team Ghana fared at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil:

Kaya Adwoa Forson

Kaya Forson participated for Ghana in the women’s 200m freestyle swimming. The Canada-born Ghanaian swimmer came last in a group of three with Matelita Buadromo and Shivani Kataria from Fiji and India respectively.

Forson however recorded a personal best time record swimming 2.16.02s at the Olympic Games in Brazil.

Kaya Adwoa Forson is Ghana’s first female swimmer at the Olympic Games.

Szandra Szogedi

The Ghanaian took part in the women’s 63kg judo at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Szandra was paired against Brazil’s Mariana Silva in the round of 32 where the Ghanaian was eliminated.

Silver qualified to the round of 16.

Abeiku Gyekye Jackson

Abeiku was Ghana’s first male swimmer at the Olympic Games. During his time in Rio, the swimmer took part in the men’s 50m freestyle swimming.

The Ghanaian swimmer came sixth in a group of eight swimmers in his heat 5 race.

Abeiku Jackson recorded a time record of 24.30s, his personal best.

Abdul Wahid Omar

The Ghanaian boxer took on Alberto Ezequiel Melian of Argentina in the men’s bantam 56kg boxing at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Abdul Omar lost by 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 score from the judges.

Christian Amoah

Ghanaian weightlifter Christian Amoah failed to progress in the men’s 85kg weightlifting event. His total weight lifted was 283 placing 11th in a group of 12. The 12th athlete had a DNF (Did Not Finish).

The winner in Amoah’s group lifted a total of 357kg.

Alex Amankwah

Alex Amankwah run in the 800m for men at the Rio Olympic Games for Team Ghana. Alex placed seventh in a group of eight with a time record of 1:50.33s.

The eight person in the group Abdelati El Guesse from Morocco was injured and did not finish the race.

Flings Owusu-Agyapong

Flings Owusu-Agyapong came close. But not close enough. The Ghanaian runner missed out on the semi-finals of the women’s 100m by 0.04s.

Flings recorded a time of 11.43s in her 100m race at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Sean Safo-Antwi

The UK-born Ghanaian runner took part in the men’s 100m race in Rio. Not that Ghana expected a gold medal in that event. There is Usain Bolt in that event.

Safo-Antwi placed sixth in his race of eight athletes making the 100m with a time record of 10.43.

Janet Amponsah

Janet Amponsoh also came in sixth position in the women’s 200m athletics at the Olympic Games in Brazil.

Amponsah who is part of the Ghana 4x100 relay team run her 200m race with a record of 23,67s.

Emmanuel Dasor

Team Ghana’s 200m runner Emmanuel Dasor who went against Yohan Blake in the men’s race was sixth in a group of eight, failing to qualify for the semi-final of the event.

Dasor recorded a time of 20.65s in his 200m race.

John Ampomah

John Ampomah of Team Ghana came in 19th position in a group of 37 athletes with one having a no match.

Amponsah threw a distance of 80.39m in the men’s javelin throw at the Olympic Games.

4x100 relay athletics

Ghana placed last in the 4x100m women’s relay athletics. Team Ghana who went into the race as the highest ranked in Africa and ninth in the world recorded a time of 43.37s to occupy the last position in their race.

In the stadings of the women’s teams Ghana was still last in 14 position as Brazil and Kazakhstan were disqualified.