Ghana has achieved its largest medal haul in the history of the African Games at the 13th edition of the event, which ended in Accra over the weekend.
The Accra 2023 Games marked the first time Ghana hosted the event, with the nation securing an impressive total of 68 medals – comprising 19 gold, 29 silver, and 20 bronze – the highest tally in the nation’s history.
This remarkable achievement signifies Ghana’s most successful participation since the inception of the Games in 1965, surpassing its previous best of 27 medals earned during the 1973 Games in Lagos, Nigeria.
With the nation waiting for success to begin the celebrations, Winnifred Ntumi delivered the first medal in weightlifting to kick off Ghana’s historic haul.
Ghana’s most popular sport, football, made history as both the male and female teams clinched gold in their respective categories over the course of three weeks.
Additionally, in other team sports, the female hockey team also emerged victorious, securing a gold medal. Moreover, in an extraordinary display, arm-wrestling captivated the Games, seizing eight gold medals in an unprecedented performance.
Boxing also stepped up to take its place in the history of the Games with four gold medals, where Samuel Takyi, Ghana’s sole Olympic medalist in Tokyo, and Joseph Commey, a recent Commonwealth Games medalist delivered yet again.
Athletics emerged as a focal point of the Games, drawing the largest crowds and garnering significant attention. With fans filling every available space at every event, the athletes delivered a spectacular performance, captivating audiences and claiming three gold medals in a remarkable display of resilience and skill.
Ghana, hosting the highest number of disciplines since the inception of the Games finished sixth out of 53 participating nations, marking a significant improvement from her 15th position in the 2019 Rabat edition, where the team returned with 13 medals.
Similarly, the Accra 2023 Games hosted three disciplines more than the Rabat event of 26 disciplines. Until the Rabat event, host countries had been averaging 20 disciplines.
The just-ended edition brought together 5000 elite athletes and coaches from 54 African countries in 29 multi-sports disciplines over three weeks.
The event, spanning across two cities, Accra and Cape Coast, served as an official qualifier for the XXXIII Olympic Games Paris 2024. The Olympic qualifying events encompassed a wide range of disciplines including athletics, swimming, cycling, badminton, wrestling, tennis, table tennis, and triathlon.
STORY BY ;PORTIA AKU SHIKA GAFAH
