I must applaud our athletes i.e. those who continue to cling onto the hope that they can resurrect the sport of Track and Field in Ghana. However, if the message posted below (below the dashed lines) is an indication of how a little freedom, trust and caring can bring out the best in an athlete, then perhaps Ghana sports in a deeper crisis than we will like to acknowledge. Ernest Obeng, Augustine Nketia, Paa Nii, Philomena Mensah, Nabiama Salifu, Awuku Boateng, are a some of the athletes who switched allegiance out of frustration and proved their true worth competing for adopted countries. The latest to find peace and stardom after leaving Ghana, not by choice, but forced out by Ghanaian athletics officials, Samuel Okantey.
Samuel Okantey, one of the best triple jumpers in Ghana’s history was forced off the national team after being systematically passed over in team selections all because two and half years ago, he confronted athletic officials in Sydney, decrying the absurd conditions within which athletics was being organized.
TODAY, OKANTEY IS A STAR IN THE MAKING and oh, not for mother GHANA but for IRELAND. Okantey is currently ranked number 1 in the world within triple jumpers and his current mark of 17.11 meters, would have been a new national indoor record and an African indoor triple jump record.
Ghana vehemently opposed his inclusion on the national team for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Sad isn’t it? Okantey was ranked in the top four within triple jumpers from Commonwealth Countries. For those who may not know, the decision to drop Okantey from the squad based on trivial disciplinary reasons, was a major part in the athletes’ decision to boycott the Commonwealth Games unless S.S. Athuahene was dropped. The argument was that if Okantey was being dropped on disciplinary grounds, then Athuahene had to be also dropped for his involvement in the visa for cash scandal.
Amazing isn’t? All Okantey did was to voice his displeasure over shady management practices and he was has quickly gotten rid off. Athuahene committed a felony, a crime, took bribes for visas and blocked the selection of qualified athletes. Where is Athuahene today? He is sitting at Accra sports stadium serving as the national Coach for field events. If this does not tell you how corrupt the system is, then nothing will.
Below is an excerpt from an ongoing debate on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) forum posted by a non-Ghanaian trying to explain how and why Ghana leads the world in the amount of athletes gotten rid off only to become stars for other countries. For the skeptics, the posting below is not a pseudo posting but one posted by an experience journalist who has covers African athletics and manages the site, http://www.africathle.com/gb.html
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Posted by: carfu (FR) (Member) 18/01/2003 5:39:25 PM
I suggest you to visit this site http://www.ghanaathletics.com and you may understand why Ghana has one of the highest rate of athletes switching allegiances. This site is an excellent illustration of what athletes experience in third world countries.
Athletes often cannot focus properly on the sport : -because of economic problems. There are certainly athletes who are burned out for the big events because the've been competing too much to make a living during the season -but also because of political problems.
What if achieving a good performance is not enough to be selected because the national federation has not released official selection criteria and selects whoever they like. What if there's no good information system and you have constantly to remind your federation that you exist by sending regularly your performances. Not to mention conflicts of interests as sports federation is a place of power.
I remember the case of athletes who couldn't get an IOC Solidarity Grant that was vital for them because the local Olympic committee and the national federation were in conflict and wouldn't both sign the paper, just to bother the other. But why make the athlete who has nothing to do with the conflict suffer. I don't know if the case ended well or not.
The fact is that athletes often spend too much energy for things which are not related to training and I understand that some of them get tired of this.
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For a full look at the debate on Okantey’s switch of allegiance, and his current success, visit the web pages (IAAF) below.
