Team Ghana made an emphatic statement on the opening day of the Five Nations U18/U20 Athletics Championships in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, topping event after event across the track and field programme to signal the depth of the country’s next generation of athletics talent.
Ghana’s junior athletics contingent, claimed medals in seven separate events on Day 1, headlined by two individual gold medals in the men’s 400m and 1500m. The results offered an early glimpse of a squad built for both sprint power and middle-distance endurance.
In the U20 Men’s 400m, Godfred Opoku led a Ghanaian one-two finish, crossing the line first in 46.23 seconds to take gold, with teammate Kazali Iddrisu following closely behind to secure silver in 46.94 seconds. The result underlined Ghana’s growing strength in the one-lap discipline at junior level.
Ghana’s dominance continued in the U20 Men’s 1500m, where Saabunu Evans produced a composed and well-judged race to win gold in a time of 3:54.00, further reinforcing the squad’s versatility across distances.
On the field, Albert Gyabaah Kontoh added to the medal tally with a silver-medal effort in the U20 Men’s Long Jump, recording a best leap of 6.96 metres. In the hurdles, Mahalaleel Arthur K. claimed gold in the U20 Men’s 110m Hurdles, stopping the clock at 14.19 seconds.
David Kwame Ofori also impressed in the U20 Men’s 100m, clocking 11.00 seconds to secure a podium finish, while the women’s team contributed further success to the day’s tally. Esther Manu claimed silver in the U20 Women’s 400m in 54.59 seconds, and Aishatu Jaffar took bronze in the U18 Women’s 100m with a time of 11.96 seconds.
