The 2024 Paris Olympic Games feature several athletes of Ghanaian descent competing for other nations.

These athletes, despite their Ghanaian heritage, chose to represent other countries, often because they were born, raised, and trained there.

Some of these athletes include Blessing Akwasi-Afrifa, representing Israel; the Mawuli Sisters, representing Japan; and Lucas Ansah-Peprah, representing Germany.

In this feature, GhanaWeb Sports highlights these athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

1. Mawuli Sisters – Japan

Evelyn and Stephanie Mawuli are Ghanaian siblings playing for the Japanese women's basketball team at the ongoing 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Evelyn and Stephanie played for Japan in their 102-76 defeat to the USA in the opening game of the Olympics.

The sisters are three years apart, with Evelyn born in 1995 and Stephanie in 1998.

They were both born in Toyohashi, Japan, to Ghanaian immigrants who became Japanese citizens in 2009 after their children were naturalized to play for Japan.

Evelyn, the eldest, has played through the ranks for Japan, from the U-16 level to the senior team, making her international debut in 2009 at the FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship in India. She has four FIBA medals.

She won a silver medal with Japan at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after losing to the USA in the final. She has six medals to her credit, including those from her junior years.



Stephanie, on the other hand, has won a total of eight medals throughout her career, including her junior years.

She made her professional debut in 2017. Like her sister, Stephanie has played at all levels for Japan, including representing the country in 3x3 basketball competitions.

She signed a contract to play in a training camp for the WNBA side New York Liberty in 2023 but was waived after a year, ending her hopes of pursuing a career in the USA.

She subsequently signed for the Japanese side Basket Zaragoza after her contract was terminated.

Unlike Evelyn, Stephanie made her Olympic debut when she played for Japan in the defeat to the USA on Monday, July 29, 2024.

2. Blessing Akwasi-Afrifa – Israel



Israeli-born Ghanaian, Blessing Akwasi Afrifah, is raising the Israeli flag high at the 2024 Olympic Games, but his journey to represent the country on the biggest stage in athletics was not easy.

He went through a trajectory of surviving deportation, appealing to the government for citizenship, and serving in the army before becoming an Israeli athlete.

Afrifah is set to compete in the 200m relay at the 2024 Olympic Games for a semi-final berth in his first-ever Olympic Games appearance.

Afrifah survived deportation in 2010 after the Israeli government amended its rules and decided not to deport children of foreign workers. Together with his family, they were granted a permanent resident permit.

He went on to secure citizenship in 2019 and full citizenship in 2020 after appealing to then-Israeli minister Aryeh Makhlouf Deri, expressing his desire to represent the country.

Upon becoming a citizen, he served in the Israel Defense Forces in 2022 at age 18, as required by law, for a short period in conditions limited to athletes and sportspersons.

The 20-year-old was born and raised in Tel Aviv to a Ghanaian immigrant who moved to Israel a decade before Afrifah's birth.

Both his parents are Akans, reportedly from Kumasi. His father, upon his arrival in Israel in the mid-1990s, worked at Ghana's embassy, while his mother worked as a cleaner.

Afrifah started as a football player before transitioning to sprinting at age 11, specializing in the 200m.

He holds the record as the first-ever Israeli to win a gold medal at the U-23 European Championship in 2023, establishing himself as a significant 200m prospect ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris.

He holds the national record for 200m with a time of 20.95. His sister, Mercy Afrifah, is also a sprinter.

3. Lucas Ansah-Peprah - Germany



Lucas Ansah-Peprah is a Ghanaian-born athlete who competes for Germany in various athletic meets and sporting events. He participates in sprints and relays.

German-Ghanaian sprinter Ansah-Peprah finished fourth in the 100m final at the 2024 Résisprint International in Switzerland, clocking 10.00 seconds.

He was born on January 16, 2000, in Stuttgart, Germany.

He competed in the men's 4x100 meters relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Ansah-Peprah is part of Germany's contingent for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

GhanaWeb feature by: Benjamin Sackey