Accra, Aug 6, GNA - Margaret Simpson, Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Sports Personality of the Year award winner will lead Ghana in the forthcoming World Athletic Championship slated for Paris, France next week.
Simpson who last Saturday made history when she became the first female to win the association's topmost award returned and to her Mauritius base on Monday would compete in seven events at the competition.
The competition, which starts from August 21 and ends August 31, would see Simpson doing four events on the 23rd and three on the next day. The nation's sole bronze and gold winner at last year's Commonwealth Games held in Manchester and African Athletics Championship in Tunisia respectively would lead eight other Athletes for the competition. The heptathlon runner would on August 23rd compete in 100 metre huddles, high jump, Shot Put and 200 meter race and continue with long jump, javelin and 800 meter race the next day.
Before her departure, Simpson told the GNA Sports that though she anticipated a stiff competition, she hoped to make waves. The athletes said she has trained well in order to hold high the name of Ghana and called on Ghanaians to pray for her success and her colleagues.
The eight others who would seek to lift the flag of the nation include Aziz Zakari, Leo Myles Mills, Eric Nkansah, Christian Nsiah, Andrew Owusu , Ignatius Gaisie, Vida Anim and Akosua Serwah.
The biannual competition which is strictly by the invitation of the International Federation of Athletics (IFA) would see the four, Nkansah, Aziz, Zakari and Mills competing in a relay which would qualify the team to the next Olympic games slated for Athens in Greece.
While Aziz, Mills and Nkansah will compete alongside Maurice Greene who has opted for the Paris event at the detriment of the Zurich meeting in the men's 100-metre race, Aziz will also compete in the 200-meter race. Sensational Anim will vie for honours in the 100 and 200-meter races respectively while Serwaa would be in action in the 800-metre race. Owusu is expected to glitter in the men's triple jump as Gaisie competes in the long jump.
Coach Ohene Karikari who is expected to join the team and guide them in the competition told the GNA Sports that the nine-member team would certainly put up spectacular performance at the event.
He said though he could not assess the strength of any of the nine presently, he based is expectations on their recent timing which gained them entry to the high ranking championship.
"The team will be strong enough to sprint surprises.We would do everything possible to reach the finals of all the events and win some medals to improve upon the country's performance in the last competition" coach Karikari said.
The coach said they are aware of the need to glitter in order to enhance the country's ranking.