Athletics: James Dadzie smashes Ghana’s 200m national record with a new sizzling time

Ghanaian student at Western Texas College, James Dadzie has set a new national record in the men’s 200m race with a sizzling time of 19.79s (+1.3m/s) run at the Crofoot Shootout in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday night.

Dadzie’s new time meant he has broken Joseph Paul Amoah’s record which stood at 20.08 seconds that was set in 2019 which also means he becomes the first ever Ghanaian to race under 20 seconds in the men’s 200m sprints.

The race, if the wind readings are corrected will qualify the former University of Ghana sprinter to this year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

Dadzie did not only impress in the 200m race but also also bolted 9.89 seconds (w +3.2) in the men’s 100m at the same event.

James Dadzie’s incredible sprint ranks him number one in the world even as at April 29, 2023 and shatters the 47-year-old National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) record set in 1976 by Millar Hampton (20.10 secs).

Earlier on the same day, Dadzie, 22, clocked an incredibly fast but windy 9.89 seconds (w +3.2) in the 100m; the fastest time run by a Ghanaian athlete under any conditions to complete the most impressive sprint double times in Ghana’s history.

Additionally, Dadzie moves from number 39 on Africa’s all-time list in the 200m to number five(5), behind Frank FREDERICKS (19.68s, Aug 1996), Clarence MUNYAI (19.69s, Mar 2018), Divine ODUDURU (19.69s, Jun 2019), Isaac MAKWALA (19.77s, Jul 2017).

The new national record is indicative of the youngsters improvement as he started this season, Dadzie ran 20.24 seconds (w+1.9) in the 200m at the 2023 Ross Black Open in New Mexico, a personal best at the time.

He then followed it up with a 10.07s run in the 100m the Oliver Jackson championship, which was also a personal best.