Ernest George Ahwireng Obeng (born 8 April 1956) is a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian retired sprinter who specialised in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and was selected for the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Biography

Obeng won the gold medal at the 1979 African Championships. His personal best time was 10.21 seconds, achieved in August 1980 in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, and because his country Ghana boycotted the Olympic Games that year he missed the opportunity to make the 1980 Olympic Games. Obeng won a bronze medal at the 1981 Universiade, represented Africa in the 100 metres at the

1981 IAAF World Cup The 3rd IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 4–6, 1981, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Overall results ...

, finishing second behind Scottish sprinter

Allan Wells Allan Wipper Wells (born 3 May 1952) is a British former track and field sprinter who became the 100 metres Olympic champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In 1981, he was both the IAAF Golden Sprints and IAAF World Cup gold medall ...

, won the gold medal at the 1982 African Championships and competed at the 1983 World Championships. He was selcetd by Ghana for the 100 metres at the 1984 Olympic Games in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

but failed to start. However he did win the 100 metres title at the British

1985 AAA Championships The 1985 AAA Championships sponsored by (Kodak) was the 1985 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 13 to 14 July 1985 at the Crystal Palace National Sport ...

. He represented Ghana up to 1986 and Great Britain from then until the end of his career. He is now in charge of television operations for the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

, working from their offices in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

International competitions

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obeng, Ernest 1956 births Living people Ghanaian male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games athletes for Ghana World Athletics Championships athletes for Ghana Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists for Ghana African Games gold medalists for Ghana African Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 All-Africa Games Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Ghanaian sportsmen