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Abdul-Rasheed Saminu has spoken for the first time about the conversation with Benjamin Azamati that inspired him to become Ghana's fastest man this year.
The sprinter smashed the national 100m record with a stunning 9.86 seconds at the NCAA East Preliminary Round on Friday, breaking Azamati's previous mark of 9.90 seconds set in 2022.
In an interview with 3Sports, Saminu revealed how a direct conversation with the former record holder motivated his historic achievement. Saminu explained:
I feel great. I'm happy about that. It's been a long season. I was really ready because me and Azamati talked about it. I said I need to break your [Azamati's] record this year. He was like, go for it. If you really want it, go for it. So I was like, okay, I'm ready.
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Benjamin Azamati and Saminu
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The bold declaration to Azamati proved to be the spark that ignited Saminu's record-breaking performance. Rather than feeling threatened, the previous record holder encouraged his fellow Ghanaian to chase greatness.
Saminu's reaction after crossing the finish line
Saminu described the magical moment when everything clicked into place on the track. He said:
The body was just ready after my warmup. I was like, yeah, today is today. I crossed the line with 9.86. I was like, what? This is crazy. Yeah. It was amazing. I have great feelings and I'm really grateful to my coaches that put the work on me.
The new time puts Saminu just 0.01 seconds away from his previous wind-assisted 9.87 seconds that qualified him for this year's World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, Japan this September.
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Saminu's breakthrough represents a new chapter in Ghanaian sprinting, proving that healthy competition between athletes can drive exceptional performances.