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"Sports has lost track"

At 73 years, burly-looking, strong and healthy, one is likely to overlook Ebenezer Charles Oko Addy as any other Ghanaian who has worked hard in his youthful days and now enjoying his retirement. But beneath that down-to-earth demeanour,  lies a legend, one among a number of stars, particularly, the four who in their time, ensured that Ghana’s name was etched in the history books when the roll call of Commonwealth gold medalists is listed.

In far away Kingston Jamaica, E.C.O. Addy and his teammates won gold for Ghana in grand and memorable style, one that will make even today’s best sprinters envious . They did not only set a Games Record, but they also denied the hosts, Jamaica of the gold they had worked so hard for and of which an entire nation was expectant.

While it was a team effort executed by Bonner Mends, James Addy, Stanley Allotey, who also won the gold in the 220 yards but the singular determination by Ebenezer Charles Oko Addy, who put Ghana ahead in the second relay, ensured that Ghana’s name ranked among the best so far as track and field was concerned and set the pace for many more successes.

Impressively  on his wall in his lobby in his home, is a little ‘Hall of Achievement’ –– a collection of all the medals E.C.O. won as well as an album with all the press cuttings chronicling his achievement -– created by his wife, another  illustrious daughter of Ghana, Professor Marian Awura Ama Addy, of the National Science and Maths Quiz fame.

It has been 47 years since that historic feat but memory still lingers on, and last week, Graphic  Sports’ Rosalind K. Amoh caught up with one of the athletes, E.C.O. Addy, who spent most of his time in the United States, but now back to enjoy his retirement with his family,  to reminisce that glorious day as well talk about Ghana athletics then and now. Here are excerpts:

GRAPHIC SPORTS (GS): Much as people would be itching to know how it all started for you, the Commonwealth Games story is too good to be true so let’s start from there. It’s been 47 years of that historic feat in Kingston, Jamaica, do you still remember what actually happened and the feeling?

ECO ADDY (ECO): Of course, I remember every step of the way right to the finish line. I don’t think anyone would ever forget it. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. We may have gone on to win others but the first one is always very special.

GS: For those of us who were young then or not even born at all, can you just walk us through that moment. Is it like what we now see on TV in such high profile competitions?

ECO: The energy and the rivalry has remained the same. At the Commonwealth Games, it was always between Great Britain, Australia, Jamaica with Ghana and Nigeria also lurking around. Despite the potential, not many people though Ghana would win but we as athletes were very sure we could surprise the competition.

At the elimination stages, Jamaica had the best qualifying times and before their home crowd, they were very confident they would win the final easily because among the six teams that qualified,  looked the strongest. All their four athletes had won individual medals while only Stanley Allotey was the only one with a medal on our team. 

At the starter’s gun, they took off in whirlwind fashion and one could only imagine the cheers that followed.  Bonner Mends started, I was in second place and that was where the event was won. I put in my all, went ahead of all the other competitors and ensured that James Addy had a good distance which he also made good work of. Finally, when  Allotey (who had won gold in the 22o yards) raced against the Jamaican he had beaten in that race. It was a tight contest between the two and by the time they were about 10 metres away from the finish line, it was too close to call. 

Allotey had to restrain himself and remain focused to avoid being overtaken by Jamaica who did well to catch up. We finished with a time of 39. 8 seconds while they finished on 40secs with Australia coming third with that same time.

GS: That must have been a good feeling. Unfortunately, we don’t have the clips readily available to relive those moments but you certainly made the nation proud.

ECO: Thanks but it did not come on a silver platter. What happened in Kingston was only the end product of years of hard training and team work. It began at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo where we missed out but having made good time, we decided to train harder and improve upon our time. 

On our return from Tokyo, Mends, Allotey, Blay Jay, Mike Ahey and myself trained and just worked on improving on the time. We did make the 39 seconds and that boosted our confidence that we could make it in Kingston.

Again, we did not have very good tracks so training on the rough tracks made it easier for us to run faster on the very good tartan tracks. That was then though.

Interestingly, just before the Kingston Games, we had our usual Ghana-Nigeria Meet at the Accra Stadium and we were so sure we would win. Unfortunately, the tracks were not that good and we had a bad track and I stepped in that bad patch, allowing the Nigerians who were then trailing to catch up with us. We eventually got to the finishing line at the same time of 39 secs, but the guests were awarded the first position. That gingered us up to push for the gold at the Commonwealth Games. The Nigerians did not make it in the final team at that event.

GS: I guess having won the gold in that manner, big bonuses awaited you.

ECO: At that time, we were just amateurs whose only delight was to make the nation proud. We were not promised anything and all that we had afterwards was five cedis. But for us, the reward was the fact that we also proved to the world that we could win too.  

When we returned, all we had was a meeting with then Head of State, General Ankrah who congratulated us with a handshake and then feted us at a little reception. 

The other incentive was that, on the streets, people showed appreciation. We could get things for free like as people who recognized us would offer to pay for those services or items. 

GS: What about per diem?

ECO: For what? There was nothing like that. But that does not mean the athletes should not be given what is due them now. If that is the arrangement now, it should be respected but I don’t think it’s good to make money the focus of everything. Sometimes it’s distractive.

With athletics going professional now, it’s good to know that the nation has instituted prize monies for the categories of medals won. That is an incentive but I hope it is honoured on time.

GS: Now tell us, how did it all began for you?

ECO: As child, I was very tall and we used to run and play on the pile of bricks just trying to find out  how fast we could run. After primary school, I went to Fijai Secondary School and but the school did not have athletics tracks so we could only go to Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) to train for our competitions.

During Inter –Co it was just fun as we tried to outdo each other . As time wore on, I realized I was good as I won or was always among the top athletes selected for the super-zonal and regional competitions. That was when I was nicknamed Daddy Long Legs. I was painfully tall, perhaps, like Usain Bolt of today and that I could run that fast surprised many.

GS: So how did you get into the national team?

ECO: The national athletics coaches would visit all the Inter-Co events and that was how I was selected for the national team. We camped for two weeks at Achimota and after the initial screening, I was picked.

Around the same time, I got admission into the University of Ghana and was placed at the Commonwealth Hall in 1963 and read political science, history and sociology

Upon arrival, I realized that the University curricular did not make much room for athletes, but I had a burning desire to remain in athletics and decided to combine both academic work and sports.

GS: Was it not a challenge as there were only a few of you?

ECO: Not only a few. I was the only one.  I was the first under-graduate to also be in the national team. However, I was encouraged by the then Chief Executive of the National Sports Council, the late Boakye Djan.  Again, I realized that I was not missing much after lectures, when leaving for training I would encounter  some guys who would be sitting at the Potter’s lodge and just chatting and engaged in other frivolous activities. I would return from training and meet then still there so I realized I was not losing much.

Also, when there was national competitions or international competitions, Ohene Djanwould dispatch a car to and and pick me from campus and bring me back after the event. That was very motivating. Unfortunately in our time, we did not have the luxury of today’s improved facilities but I did my best.

GS: What was the driving force?

ECO: There were many people who thought education and sports was an unusual combination, ironically elsewhere, particularly in the United States, you could only be in the national team if you were in school so I wanted to prove to people that it was possible to do both.

GS: Did you achieve your aim?

ECO: More than that. I became the best national athlete, setting records and beating the known big names like Mike Ahey, James Addy, and several others who were before me and all that was captured in the newspaper.  T`hen it culminated in the winning of the Commonwealth gold. I also graduated from Legon with a second class. 

While at the university, I also set several records for the school with my best being  the 220 yards set in 1964 at the Inter-Halls Games with a time of 21.5secs. I’m told that record still stands and I would personally give a cash prize to anyone who breaks it while I’m alive.

GS: It looks like the glory days of Daddy Long Legs was only for a brief moment as not much was heard from you especially in the 1970s.

ECO: When I graduated from Legon in 1967, I had an offer to work in the United States and so I left. Unfortunately, the nature of the work was such that I could not train on my own but I think I played my part and did my best while I could.

GS: What did you do while in the USA?

ECO: Mostly social work, taking a lot of field trips with the Catholic University and then later concentrated on community work.

GS: Does it mean after school your love for athletics also died?

ECO: Well, not exactly because I’ve following the trend and remained in touch with all my teammates and other friends in the sport. Unfortunately, once you left, you were made to feel unwelcome and I did not want to force myself on anyone.

GS: Right from the 1960s to the early 1990s, it looked like things were very bright for Ghana so far as athletics was concerned but now, Ghana athletics is barely surviving. Isn’t it?

ECO: To start with, in every endeavour, one needs history, role models as well as facilities to succeed but in Ghana what do we see? Our former stars are treated as nobodies once their glorious days are over.

All of the national stars are old and we will soon be losing them. Those who are in good health are in the USA and not enthused to return to be part of Ghana athletics in anyway. Not even those who left recently. Let’s ask ourselves, what is going on?

Football is trying to honour the legends and providing some role models for the young ones to look up to. In athletics, it is not the same. Many are willing to come in and share but there simply isn’t the platform or avenue for them to share their experiences with the budding athletes. So they are left to work hard on their own with very little efficient technical training.

Another big mistake that as a nation we have made was to take off the tartan tracks from the Accra Sports Stadium. A national stadium without an athletics oval? That is definitely very demotivating. In our time, there was the Kumasi Stadium but it was the Accra Stadium that always ignited the passion and the drive to run the fastest.

GS: By your own assertion, things were not very good so far as training facilities and monetary incentive was concerned but you were desirous of winning. Is that difficult to replicate now?

ECO: I blame the problem on lack of planning. Nature abhors vacuum so when vacuum is created, it finds a way of filling itself. In football, there seem to be activities to keep the sport active. In athletics, the schools and colleges event is not as strong as it used to be. 

Look, after the London Olympic Games, there was this big talk of setting off immediately for the next Games but it’s almost one year and there is nothing. Unless something is happening that we do not know of. 

I feel sad that the big prospect that Ghana had has been made to die. In the past, Jamaica had a strong presence in athletics but they were quite cautious when they came up against Ghana but now, they are way ahead of us for the simple reason that they tapped the talent that they have, planned to be the best in that category and made sure that the things needed were provided.

Things have improved and that should have been to our advantage too. Many more people have access to information on athletics, nutrition has improved, there is technology as well as improved training facilities. We don’t make good use of what we have. Infact, planning and organisation are our bane.

GS: You admit that the nation abounds in talent so the situation cannot be that hopeless?

ECO: Well if we remain in this way of doing things, then we will be overtaken by everyone else. Look Mike Ahey has been in this country for all this while and what have we done to tap on his experience? Nothing. It’s sad, even on the occasions that he has tried to help, he has been pushed away. So what stories can the up and coming ones read, listen to or possibly witness in person to be motivated? 

There should be clinics where the illustrious former athletes are invited to spend time with the budding ones. More events should be organized and the talents must be identified early. We can not reap where we have not sown and we must try and catch them young.

GS: The Ghana Athletics Association is doing that...

ECO: I don’t think enough has been done. Ghana should employ what I call the Usain Bolt Syndrome: Those in charge should look for talents with limbs, height and speed to work on. Keeping record is so essential to provide the young ones data to read and pick from that is not being done now. 

Their strength should be identified early and worked on right from the start.

What I also think is killing Ghana athletics is things are not being done in a projected manner and looks like there is no sense of direction.

In the past, there were athletics clubs, like Hearts of Oak Athletics Club, Kotoko Athletics Club and several others. So even when the athletes left school, they still had their clubs to compete for and there were several competitions. Now, those things are no more and I don’t you know of any single athletics club apart from the Security Services who now have sports teams.

We are always finding excuses for our poor showing in international competitions. Not many strong questions are asked and people make it look as if it’s just part of our way of life. We should not accept tha. We have what it takes to get to the top too. We just have the wrong attitude.

GS: With your experience, what do you think can be done to save Ghana athletics if it’s possible?

ECO: There is this saying that the early bird catches the worm but from what I see, Ghana has now fallen deep in the ‘last minute syndrome’ where we wait till the 11th hour before starting our preparations for events when other contestants may have started years back.

We must also now hold people accountable for what they do: They must provide their action plan and how they hope to execute it with timelines. When they are not meeting those timelines, we must ask them the burning questions.

GS: Your final words, please.

ECO: To the administrators now, particularly those who have graciously moved from being athletes to that position, they should not forget where they have come from and have a desire to improve the sport. That is a legacy that they owe mother Ghana. Not everyone can occupy that position so once they have been entrusted with it, they must repose that  confidence and trust  else they make it difficult for those who will come after them.

As a matter of importance, there should be a stadium with good facilities for track and field to provide the needed facilities for the athletes to train on.

I also realise that the number of technical people with the expertise to groom athletes is gone down so now every budding star is being taken abroad to train. Considering the limited resources, it means not everyone can make it. But if the facilities are here, the GAA can collaborate with the International Athletics Associations Federation (IAAF) to have a coach to come to stay in Ghana and help us build that capacity.  That will be more cost effective and that way, many more people can benefit.

To the young and budding athletes, I say to them, yes they can. They must have that self belief, have the love for it and remain disciplined, determined and dedicated and surely they can make it.


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