Ghana’s hope on Ampomah
Team Ghana captain, John Ampomah, would hope to make amends for what has been a disappointing campaign at the Olympics for the nation when he participates in the Men's javelin throw in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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The 26-year-old will be hoping to avoid the fate of nine Ghanaians before him who made first round exits in the competition.
The 2015 SWAG Athlete of the Year will need to improve his personal best throw of 82.94 metres which landed him silver at the All African Games in Congo if he is to cause an upset for a medal.
However, the odds are against the serial national record breaker (broken the national record nine times) who will contend in a field with the likes of African record holder Kenyan Julius Yego (92.72m) and Thomas Rohler who holds the year's world leading 91.28m mark.
Rohler's compatriot, 23-year-old Johannes Vetter is also among the favourites for a medal after throwing a distance of 88.23m last June.
Yesterday afternoon, sprinter Emmanuel Dasor became the ninth Ghanaian to exit the 2016 Olympic Games when he placed sixth in the 200 metre heats.
The 20-year-old Western Kentucky University student, running in Heat 2 crossed the finish line in 20.65 seconds.
Dasor's heat was won by Spaniard Bruno Hortelano (20.12s) while Jamaican former world champion Yohan Blake ( 20.13s) placed second. Both athletes progressed to progress to the semi-finals of the competition.
He joined a legion of Ghanaian debutantes at the Rio Games who have also made first round exits.
The athletes who are already out of the running for medals are Janet Amponsah, swimmers Abeiku Jackson and Kaya forson as well as judoka Szandra Szogedi, weightlifter Christian Amoah, Flings Owusu-Agyapong, Sean Safo-Antwi and Alex Amankwah.
Ghana presented a 16-person contingent for the Olympics.