Joseph Amoah (sprinter)

Joseph Paul Amoah (born 12 January 1997) is a Ghanaian sprinter specializing in the 100 metres and the 200 metres. He competed at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in the 100 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay, and at the 2019 African Games he won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay.[5][6][7] He was also a 100 metres finalist at the 2019 African Games, finishing fourth.[7]

Joseph Amoah
Amoah in 2018
Personal information
Full nameJoseph Paul Amoah
NationalityGhanaian
Born (1997-01-12) 12 January 1997
Greater Accra, Ghana[1]
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Weight68 kg (150 lb)[2]
Sport
CountryGhana
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 m, 200 m
College teamCoppin State Eagles (2017-2020)[3]
Coached byCarl Hicks and Jamie Wilson[4]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 100 m: 10.01 (2019)
  • 200 m: 20.08 NR (2019)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Ghana
African Games
2019 Rabat4×100 m relay

Amoah has personal best times of 10.01 seconds and 20.08 seconds in the 100 metres and 200 metres respectively, both set at the 2019 NCAA Division I Championships. His personal best performance in the 200 metres broke the Ghanaian record previously held by three-time Olympian Emmanuel Tuffour by 0.07 seconds.[4][8]

Early life

Amoah was born on 12 January 1997 to Thomas and Alberta Amoah in Greater Accra, Ghana, and was raised by his uncle Dr. Victor Antwi from middle school onwards.[4] His preferred sport growing up was football, but transitioned to athletics while attending Prempeh College in Kumasi where his running talent was discovered.[1] As a 19-year old he emerged as an Olympic hopeful for Ghana in the sprints after running 100 metres in 10.08 seconds at the 2016 Ghana's Fastest Human competition.[9]

University

After his prep career at Prempeh College, he decided to quit athletics when enrolling into Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).[4] However the head coach of athletics at KNUST had heard of Amoah's talent while at Prempeh college and convinced Amoah to join the team with the help of his uncle.[4][1] In 2017 he transferred to Coppin State University in Baltimore, which competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the highest level of intercollegiate athletics in the United States.[1][4]

At the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships in May, Amoah became the first Ghanaian in any sport to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics by running 200 metres in a personal best time in 20.20 seconds. It was the fastest performance from a Ghanaian since 1995 and also qualified him for the 2019 World Athletics Championships.[10] Later in June of that season at the NCAA Division I Championships, he improved his personal best times in the 100 metres and 200 metres to 10.01 seconds and 20.08 seconds respectively.[4] He broke three-time Olympian Emmanuel Tuffour's 24-year old Ghanaian record in the 200 metres (20.15 seconds, set at altitude), and qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 100 metres.[8]

Achievements

International championships
YearCompetitionPositionEventTimeWind (m/s)VenueNotes
Representing  Ghana
2018Commonwealth Games15th200 m20.990.0Gold Coast, Australia[11]
2019African Games4th100 m10.11+1.6Rabat, Morocco[7]
1st4×100 m relay38.30N/A[7]
21st200 m21.20+0.3[7]
World Championships34th100 m10.36−0.8Doha, Qatar[5]
13th4×100 m relay38.24N/A[6]

National championships
YearCompetitionPositionEventTimeWind (m/s)VenueNotes
Representing the Coppin State Eagles
2018NCAA Division I Championships13th200 m20.60+1.1Eugene, United States[3]
2019NCAA Division I Championships8th100 m10.22+0.8Austin, United States[3]
6th200 m20.19+0.8[3]
14th4×100 m relay39.30N/A[3]

References
  1. Watta, Evelyn (2019-08-29). "Joseph Amoah: The Ghanaian sprint hope with big dreams". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  2. "JOSEPH AMOAH". Coppin State Eagles. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  3. "JOSEPH AMOAH COPPIN STATE". TFRRS. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  4. Lee, Edward (2019-07-05). "Coppin State's Joseph Amoah emerges as world-class sprinter, eyes representing Ghana at 2020 Olympics". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  5. "100 Metres Men - Round 1" (PDF). IAAF. 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  6. "4 x 100 Metres Relay Men - Round 1" (PDF). IAAF. 2019-10-04. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  7. "Results" (PDF). Atos. 2019-08-29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-01.
  8. Tahiru, Fentuo (2019-06-06). "Ghana Athletics: Joseph Amoah breaks 24-year old National Record in 200m". Citi Sports Online. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  9. Malonga, Edwy (2016-10-05). "Joseph Paul Amoah, bientôt dans la cour des grands ?". LCI. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  10. "Joseph Amoah becomes first Ghanaian to qualify for 2020 Olympic Games". Joy Online. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  11. "Athletics Official Results" (PDF). Commonwealth Games. 2018-04-11. p. 14. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
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