When Ghana’s 4×100m men's relay team takes to the track today, August 8, 2024, to compete in Heat 2 of the 2024 Olympic Games, they will be competing against two countries who medaled in the event in the last edition of the Olympic Games.

Ghana will be competing against Canada, who won the silver medal in the 2020 Olympic Games, and China, who were bronze medalists at the games held in Tokyo, Japan.

A report on the makeup of Ghana’s rivals in Heat 2 indicates that Ghana’s quartet will also be competing against Jamaica, Germany, Brazil, Liberia, and host country France.

To advance to the final of the competition, Ghana’s quartet of Benjamin Azamati, Joseph Paul Amoah, Abdul Rasheed Saminu, Isaac Botsio, and Ibrahim Fuseini will either have to finish among the top three in their heat or have one of the two fastest times to qualify for the final.

The country has so far made little impact at the Paris Games, but ace broadcaster Dan Kwaku Yeboah is confident the 4×100m men's relay team will at least make it to the final of their competition.

He explained that the 4x100m relay event has always been an area of strength for Ghana and that he expects some good performances from Ghana’s quartet.

“I would love the country to do well in the 4x100m relay event. That has been our strength all this while. It is the one event in athletics that we’ve always done well, so I expect that we should at least get to the final.

“I don’t care much about the rest because we need to invest first before getting the results at the Olympic Games, and we are not doing it,” he said.

Kwaku Yeboah also provided an interesting insight into how race influences his decision to support or not support an athlete or a country.

“It will shock you that when you get to America, there are black Americans who hate Africans and there are whites who love Africans, so I wouldn’t want to go on that tangent. I’m interested in those putting up good performances.

“As an African, I support those African countries that are doing well. The likes of Ethiopia and Kenya do well in the long-distance competitions, and I always love to see them up there,” he said.

The race is scheduled to start at 9:35 am Ghana time.

EK