Ghana grabs two medals in US Junior Championship
Just two months into their stay in the USA, two Ghanaian junior athletes have clinched three gold medals on the first day of the ongoing US Junior College National Championships in New York.
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Budding long jump star, Elizabeth Dadzie, stunned US college athletics observers with a dramatic win in the women’s pentathlon after wonderful performances in the first two events.
After jerky performances in the hurdles and high jump, probably due to her inability to control her nerves in her maiden appearance at the championship in the US, an average performance of 10.53m in the shot putt (third event) moved her into sixth place before she roared to the lead with a massive long jump (fourth event) of 6.23m.
Her jump of 6.23m is a lifetime best and the farthest jump by a Ghanaian since 2011 that also puts her at the top of the Africa indoor rankings in 2014. She capped her brilliant showing in the pentathlon with a 2:30.68 in the 800m run.
Two hours after her splendid performance in the six-hour, Dadzie returned to the field to pick up silver in the individual long jump event by the narrowest of margins as she missed the title by two centimetres (three-quarters of an inch).
Despite the competition being staged indoors, her new personal best of 6.23m would have been enough to win a bronze medal at the 2012 senior African Championships!!!
Her compatriot, Lydia Mato, topped her performance by surmounting a strong field of competition which included three Kenyans, to win gold in both the women’s 3000m and 5000m races.
Remarkably, she has managed to do so as a first year student and jumped far enough to contend for a medal in the long jump at the 2014 Senior African Championships.
John Ampomah won the title in the javelin last year, while Atsu Nyamadi won bronze in the men’s multi-event.