Ghana’s bid to make history at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo has gone into overdrive after the country’s fastest men set up camp in Texas, USA, determined to sharpen their blades for a tilt at global glory.
Seven of the nation’s top sprinters — including national record breakers Abdul Rasheed Saminu and Benjamin Azamati — have touched down at Texas A&M University-Commerce, where they are undergoing an intensive training camp under the watchful eye of American coach George Pincock, Head of Track and Field at the university.
The camp, organised by Ghana Athletics with crucial backing from the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and support from the host university, is designed to prepare the athletes for the biggest stage of all when the championships kick off from September 13–21 in Tokyo.
GOC President, Richard Akpokavie hailed the initiative as a landmark moment.
“We are excited to support our relay team and sprinters as they prepare for the World Championships. We believe in their potential and are confident they can make a strong impression on the world stage,” he said.
The GOC boss urged Ghanaians to rally behind the team. “These athletes bring joy every time they step onto the track. The GOC’s support is not enough — Ghana must get behind them, for their success will be the nation’s joy.”
Leading the charge is Saminu, the new darling of Ghanaian athletics. The 21-year-old Texas-based student has been setting tracks on fire, smashing the national 100m record not once but twice this summer — first with 9.86s in May, then lowering it to a jaw-dropping 9.84s at the
Last Chance Qualifier in Georgia on July 19 — cementing his status as a world-class contender. At that time, the youngster was the fastest man on the planet in 2025.
Standing alongside him is Benjamin Azamati, the former record holder whose mark Saminu obliterated. Azamati has also been in sparkling form, clocking 9.93s in California in May and 9.98s later that month in Sherman Oaks. The speedster is due to join his teammates in Texas on August 18 after completing a competition stint in Europe.
Both Saminu and Azamati will line up individually in the blue-riband 100 metres in Tokyo before combining forces in Ghana’s blistering 4x100m relay squad, the team many believe could finally land the nation its first relay medal on the global stage.
Backing them up in camp are a cast of equally top talents, including Ghana’s national 200m record holder Joseph Paul Amoah, (season’s best 10.08s — London, Canada, June 22), Ibrahim Fuseini (Season’s best 10.03s — Lubbock, Texas, May 1), Barnabas Aggerh (season’s best 10.06s — Marion, Indiana, May 23), Mustapha Bokpin (season’s best 10.09s — Georgia, July 19), and Isaac Botsio (season’s best 10.11s — Canyon, Texas, April 10).
Together, these athletes form the fastest group of Ghanaian sprinters ever assembled, and perhaps the best hope yet of turning years of promise into a global medal as they dream of a World Championship podium finish in Tokyo.
