Sprinter Benjamin Azamati made history last Friday when he blitzed his way to Ghana’s 100m record in the Heats of the Texas Relays in the United States.
The 23-year-old’s time of 9.97s broke Leo Myles-Mills’ 22-year-old record of 9.98s set in 1999, with the Ghanaian also becoming the first man to go under 10.00s in 2021.
He also took 0.35s off his previous Personal Best time of 10.32s, which he managed in 2019.
The run helped Azamati seal a ticket to this summer’s Tokyo Olympics alongside compatriots, Joseph Paul Amoah, and triple jump athlete Nadia Eke.
Azamati’s record-breaking run
Benjamin Azamati's record breaking run:
✅New NR 9.97s (breaks Leo Myles-Mills' 22-year old record of 9.98s)
✅World Lead time, first man to dip under 10.00s in 2021
✅First NCAADII athlete to run under 10.00s
✅Booked ticket to Tokyo Olympics
✅This kid is on fire! pic.twitter.com/0oVQ6a7fDw— Fentuo Tahiru Fentuo (@Fentuo_) March 26, 2021
Azamati also becomes the third Ghanaian sprinter in history to run a sub-10:00s time, following Myles-Mills’ effort at the end of the 20th century and Aziz Zakaria’s 9.99s in 2005.
Joe Paul’s time of 10:01s, which secured his spot at this year’s Olympic Games, is fifth on the list; meaning two of Ghana’s five fastest-ever 100m races have been run in the last two years.
Take a look at the five fastest times ever run by Ghanaians in the 100m race below:
