Athletics dying in Ghana — J.A. Antwi

A former national athlete and athletics coach, J.A. Antwi, says the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) must as a matter of urgency, give priority to technical development to help halt the decline of the sport in the country.
He is also advocating the construction of a national stadium that will have all the facilities for athletics as a way of reviving the waning interest in the sport with regard to participation.

According to Mr Antwi,  who together with three others won Ghana’s first athletics medal in 1962, the poor state of Ghana athletics at the moment is as a result of the lack of commitment on the part of the nation in the promotion and development of the game.

Now Nana Antwi Boasiako, the Nkosuohene of Begoro in the Eastern Region,  J.A. Antwi in 1962, teamed up with the late Willie Williams, F.A. Owusu and E.Q. Quartey, aka Massacre, to win the bronze medal in the 4 x 440 yards before the likes of Mike Ahey and the late Eddy Blay went on to win gold in their respetive events at the same Commonwealth Games in Parth.

In an exclusive interview with the Graphic Sports at his residence at Begoro, Nana Antwi Boasiako said until serious attention was given to the development of  the technical directorate of Ghana Athletics, the quest to reclaim the nation’s  place in world athletics would remain a mirage.

“In the past, there was real commitment to the sport which was even more popular than football. People wanted the sport to genuinely thrive and there was proper planning and organisation, but at the moment, it looks like we just want to make up the numbers and so those in charge are doing things haphazardly.”

“Of course, during our time, it was good to train anywhere, and we did better when we went abroad, but now, things have changed and you cannot rely on just the talent without the proper training in technique and the technical aspect,”  Mr Antwi said.

“Athletics is not about physical strength and brawn but also about the technique, but I doubt if our athletes of today are introduced to those important details in the sport.”

“I think as a matter of urgency, those in charge of the sport must find ways of building up their technical directorate by engaging people who are professionals and not people who claim to have a knowledge about the sport.  Just like football, someone with a fair knowledge could give the basics but to become a star in the sport, you need a technical person who have the competence to help build your capacity,” the former national star stressed.

J.A. Antwi who went on to become a national athletics coach also headed the Sports Directorate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology until his retirement in 1990 when he was enstooled as Begoro Nkosuohene.



Story by Rosalind K. Amoh