Saminu has set a new national record in the men’s 100m
When Abdul Rasheed Saminu surged down the track in Georgia on Saturday, July 19, 2025, the world saw only the blur of his blazing speed, 9.84 seconds of pure, unstoppable intent that rewrote Ghana’s national 100m record once again.
Saminu’s path to becoming Ghana’s fastest man, and now the third-fastest man in the world this year, is one paved with struggle.
In a candid interview with 3Sports after his record-breaking run, the 27-year-old opened a window into the battles many never knew he fought.
“Back in 2018 when I got back to Accra, I stopped school. I didn’t want to do track no more because without school, you can’t run track international,” he began, the memories of those days as raw as ever.
With dreams paused and pockets empty, Saminu found himself swallowed by the daily grind that so many young Ghanaians know too well.
“I was working on Ashaiman market, pushing trucks, selling sachet water in Accra. I did lots of work, borla job I did it, I was a mate. My last job was delivery service in the University of Ghana,” he recalled.
By day he weaved through traffic and passengers as a trotro mate, absorbing the insults hurled his way.
“Even when I was doing the Trotro job, I received lots of insults from passengers and your master, but they didn’t know who I was. The day that my master heard that I was going back to the university, he asked if I was a student, and I rebutted, saying you think I don’t go to school? that’s why you talk to me anyhow. It was funny,” he said.
What many see today, the medals, the fanfare, the headlines, hide a truth; Saminu’s life could have easily stayed on that street corner. It nearly did.
“The most important part that took me away from the street was, I had a fight in Ashaiman market after a scuffle with some guy called Razak. We exchanged punches, and when I went home, I reflected and I told myself I can’t be on the streets,” he further revealed.
It was the turning point his spirit needed, and God came through for him. It wasn’t just about education, it was about reclaiming the dream he’d almost abandoned.
“So within a week, I got the University of Ghana admission. I was so happy, I told my master, I was going to school. University of Ghana brought me back to track, because I just stopped everything, and they gave me admission,” he added.
And so, the boy who once balanced trays of sachet water on his head and dodged insults in trotros found himself again on the lanes, training under the sun and nursing the belief that he could run his way out of the shadows.
He never forgot those he left behind, either.
“Anytime I come home, I have to go check on my master and those I pushed the truck with,” he said.
Now, with a new national record of 9.84s, faster than any Ghanaian ever, Saminu stands not just as an athlete, but as a living symbol of how far resilience can carry a dreamer from the chaos of Ashaiman to the world’s biggest stages.
Already booked for the World Championships in Tokyo, he will now chase even bigger dreams, his feet hitting the track with every memory, every insult, every market fight fueling each stride.
The streets may have hardened him, but they never broke him. They built Ghana’s fastest man.
Watch the interview below:
FKA/MA
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