The highly anticipated sprint rematch between emerging athletics talents Fulera Sulemana of T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School and Gladys ‘Gaza’ Boateng of St Louis Senior High School will not take place at this weekend’s Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) Open Championships in Cape Coast.
The clash, which many athletics enthusiasts expected to headline the Girls’ Under-18 100m and 200m races, has been called off after T.I. Ahmadiyya SHS declined to release its student-athletes for the competition.
Sources close to the school have indicated that the Kumasi-based institution has opted to keep its athletes on campus to focus on their academic commitments. This decision is particularly significant as some of the athletes are final-year students preparing for the upcoming West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The expected rematch had generated significant excitement within Ghana’s schools athletics community, following previous thrilling encounters between the two sprinters. Fulera Sulemana has been one of the standout performers for T.I. Ahmadiyya SHS, while Gladys ‘Gaza’ Boateng has built a strong reputation representing St Louis SHS with impressive performances in the sprint events.
Athletics followers had hoped the meeting at the GAA Open Championships would provide another chapter in the budding rivalry between the two promising sprinters, both regarded as future prospects for Ghana’s national athletics programme.
Despite the absence of Sulemana, the championships in Cape Coast are still expected to attract a number of top school and club athletes from across the country, competing in various track and field disciplines as part of preparations for upcoming national and school competitions.
The event, organised by the Ghana Athletics Association, also forms part of the broader efforts to identify and nurture young athletic talents through competitions such as the Elite Schools League and other development initiatives across the country.