Kumasi, Ghana: Joseph Paul Amoah was virtually unknown in Ghanaian athletic circles before he was crowned “Ghana’s fastest human”. Now he’s the new face of sprinting in a country looking to transform its running culture.
“It’s been an instant shot to fame,” said the 19-year-old from the central Ashanti region, after reportedly clocking an impressive winning time of 10.08 sec in the 100m.
In early September, 160 runners from four qualifying competitions held across Ghana converged on the country’s second city Kumasi to participate in the race, set up by former Olympian Reks Brobby.
In 2013, Brobby founded Ghana’s Fastest Human (GFH), an annual 100-metre competition designed to unearth the country’s best sprinting talent with the hope of boosting future track success.
At stake was a one-year intensive training programme for the top two men and two women, sponsored by sportswear giant Adidas and the state-run Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).