From September 13 to 21, 2025, Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium pulsed with energy as the world’s fastest, strongest, and most daring athletes pushed the limits of human performance.
And in the middle of that spectacle stood Ghana’s small but determined contingent, a mix of rising stars and familiar names, carrying a nation’s hopes with every stride and every leap.
Before the Championships, Ghana’s best in the men’s 4×100m relay on the global stage was 38.07 seconds.
That time was set at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene by the quartet of Sean Safo-Antwi, Benjamin Azamati, Joseph Oduro Manu, and Joseph Paul Amoah. They placed 5th in that final.
Watch how Ghana finished fourth in the 4x100m relay final
In sprinting, Ghana has had sprinters reach semis and occasionally finals, but never quite close to medals.
Rose Yeboah had shown promise before: she broke the national high jump record, cleared 1.94m at NCAA D1 events, earned Olympic qualification, won continental golds, but her World or Olympic finals were mostly elusive.
The Tokyo 2025 surge
Then came Tokyo, Ghana had the opportunity to go one step further. But sometimes, the hope usually kills and that’s what happened.
Azamati and Saminu fall in the 100m
For Benjamin Azamati, the Championships were supposed to be a chance to reassert himself among the world’s elite sprinters.
But the track can be unforgiving. Under the bright lights in Heat 5 of the men’s 100m, he never quite found his rhythm.
His 10.30 seconds left him sixth, out of the competition before the semis. It was a hard blow for a man who has carried Ghana’s sprinting banner for years.
When Azamati faltered, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu announced himself. At just 27, he stormed through Heat 2 with a blistering 10.09, placing second and securing his ticket to the semifinals.
For a debutant, it was a run of pure courage, and for a moment, Ghana dared to dream.
In the semis, he shaved even more off his time, 10.08, but in a cruel twist of fate, it was only good enough for a fourth position.
One place shy of the final. A near miss, but one that proved Ghana’s fastest man belongs on the big stage.
The relay team and Rose Yeboah’s heartbreak
The relay team gave Ghanaians real belief that a medal was highly possible. With Saminu, Azamati, Joseph Paul Amoah, and Ibrahim Fuseini combining in near-perfect rhythm, they scorched the track in their heat to set a new national record of 37.79 seconds.
That single run lit up social media back home, with many fans daring to believe that the long wait for a World Championship medal was about to end.
In the final, they pushed hard again, clocking 37.93 seconds, just 0.04 seconds shy of bronze.
It was a breathtaking performance, but when the dust settled, a section of Ghanaians couldn’t hide their disappointment.
The medal never came, and the heartbreak of “so close, yet so far” was etched across the nation.
Still, for many others, the record-breaking run felt like a promise that Ghana’s moment of glory is only a matter of time.
The same mixture of pride and frustration surrounded Rose Yeboah in the high jump.
When she cleared 1.92m to reach the final, she made history as the first Ghanaian woman in two decades to do so, carrying the hopes of an entire nation on her shoulders.
In the final, however, she bowed out at 1.88m, finishing 15th. For Ghanaians watching, the achievement of reaching that stage was uplifting, but it also came with a pang of what might have been.
Yeboah’s presence in the final proved that Ghana belongs on the biggest stage, but the dream of a medal was once again left hanging in the air.
So, Ghana leaves Tokyo without a medal, but not without progress. Records were broken, debuts were made, and dreams edged closer to reality.
FKA/JE
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