Benjamin Azamati kept Ghana’s medal ambitions in the men’s 100m firmly alive on a rain-soaked evening in Glasgow, clocking 10.00 seconds to finish third in the opening semi-final of the event.
The result leaves the Ghanaian sprinter on the fringes of automatic qualification but very much in contention for one of the two remaining places in the final, reserved for the fastest non-automatic qualifiers across the three semi-final heats.
Azamati’s semi-final was headlined by Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, who eased through in 9.90 seconds to top the field, with Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy following in 10.00. Azamati matched Kennedy’s time to the hundredth but was placed third on the photo finish, underlining just how tight the battle for places has been at this year’s Games.
A 10.00-second clocking on a wet track is a statement of intent and it may be enough to book Azamati’s place among the eight fastest men in the Commonwealth.
The qualification system for the final rewards the top two finishers in each of the three semi-finals automatically, with the next two fastest times from across all heats regardless of the semi-final they ran in completing the eight-man field.
That format has turned attention squarely to the underlying times rather than the finishing positions alone, and it is here that Ghana’s involvement in the story deepens.
Abdul-Rasheed Saminu clocked 10.06 seconds for third in Semi-Final 2, a race won by Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi in 9.94, with Wales’ Jeremiah Azu taking the second automatic spot in 10.00. On the times currently on the board, Azamati and Saminu occupy the two fastest positions among the non-automatic qualifiers, ahead of Australia’s Rohan Browning (10.14) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Omari Lewis (10.15) raising the prospect, still to be confirmed once Semi-Final 3 concludes, of both Ghanaian sprinters advancing to the final.
Should that scenario hold, it would mark a significant moment for Ghana’s Athletes sprinting at these Games, placing two athletes in a Commonwealth 100m final field that already features the reigning talents of Eseme, Ajayi, Kennedy and Azu.
Official confirmation of the eight qualifiers is expected once all three semi-finals, and any outstanding photo-finish rulings, are finalised.