Joseph Amoah (sprinter)
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | Joseph Paul Amoah | ||||||||||||||
Nationality | Ghanaian | ||||||||||||||
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 (2017-2020)[3] | ||||||||||||||
Coached by | Carl Hicks and Jamie Wilson[4] | ||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
Personal bests |
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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 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
Year | Competition | Position | Event | Time | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Notes |
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Representing ![]() | |||||||
2018 | Commonwealth Games | 15th | 200 m | 20.99 | 0.0 | Gold Coast, Australia | [11] |
2019 | African Games | 4th | 100 m | 10.11 | +1.6 | Rabat, Morocco | [7] |
1st | 4×100 m relay | 38.30 | — | [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 | — | [6] |
National championships
Year | Competition | Position | Event | Time | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the Coppin State Eagles | |||||||
2018 | NCAA Division I Championships | 13th | 200 m | 20.60 | +1.1 | Eugene, United States | [3] |
2019 | NCAA Division I Championships | 8th | 100 m | 10.22 | +0.8 | Austin, United States | [3] |
6th | 200 m | 20.19 | +0.8 | [3] | |||
14th | 4×100 m relay | 39.30 | — | [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 c d e "JOSEPH AMOAH COPPIN STATE". TFRRS. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Athletics Official Results" (PDF). Commonwealth Games. 2018-04-11. p. 14. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
External links
- 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