Ghana’s Matthew Nantiere stole the show in the 1500m event at the ongoing Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Games in Accra on Tuesday evening.
The 17-year old, a graduate of the Ghana National Academy in the Ashanti Region, ended the race in superb fashion at the expense of Gyang Emmanuel Gwon of Nigeria who led the group of runners at the final two laps.
Nantiere, who was third until the last two laps, gathered more energy and strolled past Gwon who had gotten the better of a fatigue-looking Ghanaian, Prosper Goku.
The Senior High School graduate finished in a time of 15:02:24secs. to win the gold whilst Gwon made it in 15:04:92secs to place second. The other Ghanaian runner Goku held on to the bronze with a time of 15:17:38secs.
An elated Nantiere told GNA Sports after the race that, “I’m very happy with my performance. I realized that Goku did not have the finishing power, so it was our plan he held on till the final laps.
“I knew I had the finishing power and I’m not surprised that I was able to overtake the Nigerian to come tops,” he concluded.**