Benjamin Azamati-Kwaku (born 14 January 1998) is a Ghanaian sprinter, who currently competes for ASICS Global.
He made history by breaking a 22-year national record held by Leo Myles Mills on 26 March 2021 in Texas by clocking 9.97 seconds to qualify him for the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Mustafa Ussif, the Sports Minister and Dr Bella Bello Bitugu, the Director of the University of Ghana Sports Directorate, congratulated Benjamin Azamati on the national feat.
Early life and education
Azamati was born on 14 January 1998 to John and Faustina Azamati in
Akim oda
Akim Oda is a town in the Eastern Region of south Ghana and is the capital of the Birim Central Municipal District and the traditional capital of Akyem Kotoku. In 2013, Akim Oda had a settlement population of 60,604 people.
Geography and clim ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
.
His preferred sport growing up was
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, but transitioned to
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...
while attending
Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School in
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
where his running talent was discovered by his PE masters (Nathaniel Botchway, Gideon Dukplah and Kofi Dadzie).
Occupation and honors
As a 21-year old he emerged as an
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
hopeful for Ghana in the
sprints
Sprint may refer to:
Aerospace
*Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design
*Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile
Automotive and motorcycle
* Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989
*Chevrolet Sprint ...
after running 100 metres in 10.02 seconds HT at the 2019 Ghana's Fastest Human competition.
He won a gold medal in the
4x100m relay at the
2019 African Games
The 12th African Games was held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This was the first time that the African Games were hosted by Morocco following the country's readmission to the African Union in January 2017.
Bidding process
The 12th ...
in Rabat. He won the GUSA 100m on two occasions.
In 2021, he improved the 100m national record with 9.97 and improved his 200m personal best to 20.13.
On 25 March 2022, Azamati improved his own 100m national record to an early world lead of 9.90 seconds in Texas, USA, making him the joint 4th fastest collegiate of all-time with
Trayvon Bromell
Trayvon Jaquez Bromell (born July 10, 1995) is an American professional track and field athlete specializing in sprinting events. He was the first junior to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters with a time of 9.97 seconds, the former jun ...
. This mark also placed him within the top 50 all-time 100m sprint performances with only 6 Africans running faster in the continent at the time.
Personal bests
Outdoor
* 100 metres - 9.90 (+2.0 m/s, Texas 2022)
* 200 metres - 20.13 (+1.1 m/s, Texas 2021)
Indoor
* 60 metres - 6.54 ( Albuquerque 2022)
* 200 metres - 20.57 (Texas 2022)
Achievements
International championships
References
External links
*
1998 births
Living people
Ghanaian male sprinters
Place of birth missing (living people)
Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games
Competitors at the 2019 Summer Universiade
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of Ghana
Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School alumni
African Games competitors for Ghana
African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
African Games gold medalists for Ghana
Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
{{Ghana-athletics-bio-stub