Dantakor, Amertowosi win gold for Ghana

Hannah Dantakor of Twin-City Special School in Takoradi and Joseph Tettey Amertowosi of the Special School for the Intellectually Disabled in Hohoe wrote their names in the history books at the ongoing Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi when they won gold medals in the 200 and 100 metres respectively.

While Hannah defied all odds to beat seven other competitors in the Division Fo9 in the 200 metres in a time of 29:59 secs, Amertowosi, who looked very confident before the race, started waving to the few Ghanaians at the Dubai Police Club Sports Stadium, clocking 13:13 seconds in the Division 25 100 metres.

The victory, which came at a time the male football team had lost their bid to win the bronze medal in the seven-a-side football competition after losing 1-2 to Thailand in the third place match played at the Abu Zayed Sports Arena in Abu Dhabi last Tuesday, restored the smiles on the faces of team officials and board members of Special Olympics Ghana.

Moments after winning their historic medals to fly the flag of Ghana very high in the 2019 Special Olympics World Games, the athletes, together with two other compatriots who failed to place in the medal zone, posed with team officials, coaches and dignitaries who had been with them since the tournament started on March 15.

The Deputy Director General of the Ghana Education Service, Mr Anthony Boateng, and the Vice Chairman of Special Olympics Ghana, Nana Wereko-Ampim Opoku, took turns to commend the athletes for marketing themselves and Ghana at the elite level.

They said the feat, which had come at a time Special Olympics World Games was celebrating its 50th anniversary, would galvanise their colleagues home to be keen on nurturing their potential in sports to become part of future tournaments.