Joseph Amoah (sprinter)
![]() Amoah in 2018 | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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Full name | Joseph Paul Amoah | |||||||||||||
Born | Greater Accra, Ghana[1] | 12 January 1997|||||||||||||
Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[2] | |||||||||||||
Weight | 68 kg (150 lb)[2] | |||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||
Country | Ghana | |||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||
Event(s) | 100 m, 200 m | |||||||||||||
College team | Coppin State Eagles (2017–2021)[3] | |||||||||||||
Coached by | Carl Hicks and Jamie Wilson[4] | |||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) |
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Medal record
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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]
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 Amoah and Alberta Antwi 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]
2021 World Relays[]
Amoah was selected to represent Ghana at the 2021 World Relays on 1–2 May in Poland, which served as a qualifier for the 2021 Olympic Games and the 2022 World Championships for Ghana.[11] In the final Amoah anchored Ghana to bronze with a time of 39.11 seconds, but the team was disqualified after footage review showed Amoah receiving the baton beyond the passing zone from teammate Joseph Oduro Manu.[12] However because they qualified for the final with a time of 38.79 seconds in the semi finals, Ghana with Amoah still qualified to compete at the Olympic Games.[13]
Achievements[]
International championships[]
Year | Competition | Position | Event | Time | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Commonwealth Games | 15th | 200 m | 20.99 | 0.0 | Gold Coast, Australia | [14] |
2019 | African Games | 4th | 100 m | 10.11 | +1.6 | Rabat, Morocco | [7] |
1st | 4×100 m relay | 38.30 | N/A | [7] | |||
21st | 200 m | 21.20 | +0.3 | [7] | |||
World Championships | 34th | 100 m | 10.36 | −0.8 | Doha, Qatar | [5] | |
13th | 4×100 m relay | 38.24 | N/A | [6] | |||
2021 | World Relays | 4×100 m relay | N/A | Chorzów, Poland | Passing outside zone[12] |
National championships[]
Year | Competition | Position | Event | Time | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | NCAA Division I Championships | 13th | 200 m | 20.60 | +1.1 | Eugene, United States | |
2019 | NCAA Division I Championships | 8th | 100 m | 10.22 | +0.8 | Austin, United States | |
6th | 200 m | 20.19 | +0.8 | ||||
14th | 4×100 m relay | 39.30 | N/A | ||||
2021 | NCAA Division I Championships | 15th | 4×100 m relay | 39.51 | N/A | Eugene, United States | |
9th | 100 m | 10.21 | +0.9 | ||||
10th | 200 m | 20.51 | +1.4 |
- NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System profile.[3]
References[]
- ^ a b c d Watta, Evelyn (2019-08-29). "Joseph Amoah: The Ghanaian sprint hope with big dreams". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ a b "JOSEPH AMOAH". Coppin State Eagles. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ a b "JOSEPH AMOAH COPPIN STATE". TFRRS. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g 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.
- ^ a b "100 Metres Men - Round 1" (PDF). IAAF. 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ a b "4 x 100 Metres Relay Men - Round 1" (PDF). IAAF. 2019-10-04. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ a b c d e "Results" (PDF). Atos. 2019-08-29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-01.
- ^ a b Tahiru, Fentuo (2019-06-06). "Ghana Athletics: Joseph Amoah breaks 24-year old National Record in 200m". Citi Sports Online. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ Malonga, Edwy (2016-10-05). "Joseph Paul Amoah, bientôt dans la cour des grands ?". LCI. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
- ^ "Joseph Amoah becomes first Ghanaian to qualify for 2020 Olympic Games". Joy Online. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ "Ghana’s team for World Athletics Relay". Ghanaian Times (2021-04-29). Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ a b "World Relays: Ghana disqualified in final despite finishing 3rd". Citi Sports via ModernGhana (2021-05-02). Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ Tahiru, Fentuo (2019-05-01). "World Relays: Ghana men’s 4x100m Relay team qualify for Tokyo Olympics [VIDEO]". Citi Sports. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
- ^ "Athletics Official Results" (PDF). Commonwealth Games. 2018-04-11. p. 14. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
External links[]
- Joseph Amoah at World Athletics
- Joseph Amoah at Track & Field Results Reporting System
- Ghanaian male sprinters
- 1997 births
- Living people
- People from Greater Accra Region
- World Athletics Championships athletes for Ghana
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games
- African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Coppin State University alumni
- Prempeh College alumni
- African Games gold medalists for Ghana
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Ghana
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Olympic athletes of Ghana
- Coppin State Eagles men's track and field athletes