Two US-based athletes eye Japan 2020 with Ghana
Two young athletes of Ghanaian parentage based in the United States of America (USA), Roland and Remy Amarteifio have taken a bold step towards being part of Ghana’s plans for the next Olympic Games to be hosted by Japan in the year 2020.
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The siblings, both track athletes, were born in Chicago, Illinois to madam Genevieve Kudjodji and Renald Amarteifio, but came to live in Accra, during their childhood days, staying for seven years.
Currently, Remy, the elder of the two, has a time of 13. 86secs in the women’s 100-metre hurdles, while Roland has clocked 14. 30secs in the men’s 110 metres. Roland also ran 53.24secs in the 400 metre hurdles
Speaking to the Graphic Sports from their base in the US, Remy, 20, and Roland, 19, did not mince words about their intention to be part of Ghana’s contingent for the Japan 2020 Games and said they had already stepped up their preparations both mentality and physically.
Remy is a product of Dawes and Orrington for elementary school, Chute middle school and Evanston Township High School where she picked her initial lessons in the sport
She told the Graphic Sports team: “While in high school, I met Fenton Gunter who trained me in the sprints as well as Jessie Sibert and Tameeka Mcfarlane. The three of them also trained Margaret Bamgbose in high school and she ran the 4x4 for Nigeria at the Rio Olympics.”
Remy said it was after high school in May of 2015, that she discovered her potential in the hurdles event.
She said her trainer, Fenton Gunter, trained her while she attended Oakton Community College and that was when she competed in various collegiate competitions where she ran unattached.
The biology pre-med major student at Northern Illinois University, where she is a sophomore on the track, and a junior in her academics, said she was ready to make all the sacrfices to get a chance to represent Ghana at Japan 2020.
Like his sister, Roland also spent the first seven years of his life in Accra, Ghana while living with their grandparents.
Roland, who is currently a student athlete at the University of Michigan, also told Graphic Sports that he began running track back in his teen years because he was good at it and it was fun to do.
“I later realised running has been in my family for a while with my mother, Genevieve Kudjodji, running in school just as my aunt.
“I found out my passion was for hurdles, and one thing I love about the hurdles is the challenge the event brings to one’s endurance.”
He said he also played football in high school but gave it up to focus on track and field, indicating that his decision had ‘paid off greatly.’
Roland said his aim was to represent Ghana at the next Olympics in 2020 for which “I am willing to put in the work and dedicate myself to the event and believe I will succeed.”