I needed at least 2 weeks to get used to the weather

Ghanaian sprinter Benjamin Azamati has blamed the weather in Ghana after placing second in the Men’s 100m semi-final of the 2023 African Games on March 18, 2024.

Speaking to the media after the race, the US-based athlete said he needed two weeks to settle before the race but arrived in Ghana only a week ago.

He further noted that, because of the above reason, he got worn out during the warm-ups; therefore, he set his sights on qualifying and getting it out of the way.

“Having been there since only on Monday, at least I needed about two weeks to get used to the weather out here. So I think that was the problem. I got really tired when I was warming up, so I decided to just run the heat and just qualify.”

Azamati admitted that he did not have a ‘perfect race’ because he got his execution wrong.

“Not the perfect race for me. I feel like I didn’t execute well, but I will go sit with my coach and talk about it. I had a little bit of a tight hip flexor. I think I’ll go back and see the physio to work on that and see how we can do tomorrow.”

Benjamin Azamati advanced to the 100m final after finishing second in the semis with a time of 10.41s behind Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, who won with a time of 10.23.

The final is scheduled for today, March 19, 2024, at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium at 18:30 GMT.

EE/OGB