Norfolk University crowns Bissah best athlete

Ghana’s 2014 Youth Olympic 800m gold medallist, Martha Bissah, has for the second consecutive time been adjudged the best female athlete of the Norfolk State University (NSU) in the United States of America (USA) where she is currently pursuing a degree in business management.

Martha, before chalking up this feat, had been the first Spartan to win the MEAC women’s cross-country individual title since 2001 by setting a new championship record of 17 minutes, 16 seconds last October.

The awards ceremony, which is known as “the Spartan Choice Awards”, took place last Monday night.

A guardian of Martha, Kweku Nimako, told the Graphic Sports that the promising female athlete also won four gold medals in February this year, making her the MEAC Indoor most outstanding women’s runner for the second straight year.

“Martha won the 800m, 1,500m and 3,000m races when she participated in the Spartan’s first-place distance relay, earning her the MVP for the women’s cross-country and the MVP for the women’s track and field at the awards ceremony,” Mr Nimako said.

Presently, the 21-year-old athlete, who could not represent Ghana at the just-ended 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, due to a ban placed on her by the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA), is ranked 10th in the 800 metres in the NCAA East region.

That notwithstanding, Mr Nimako said Martha, who is the first back-to-back winner of the NSU’s female athlete of the year award since bowler, Thea Aspiras, in 2011-12, would not be demoralised by the GAA’s decision but would continue to work hard to write her name in gold wherever she found herself.

He reiterated his call to Ghanaians to support the young athlete to grow since Ghana stood the chance to gain a lot from her.