2023 African Games: Key takeaways from 13th edition

By
Bill Eshun
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0
103
Medalists with Sports Minister
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A colorful ceremony was held on March 23 to bring the 13th African Games to a befitting end.

It had been three weeks of drama, cheers, and new records broken as Ghanaians and other Africans witnessed back-to-back showdowns in Accra and Cape Coast.

About 5000 athletes from 50 countries competed in 29 disciplines; a record in terms of numbers.

In 2027, it will be Egypt’s turn, the expectations will be sky-high. But what are the key takeaways from this edition?

Egypt’s dominance

Since the prestigious multi-sport competition started in 1965, no country has won more medals at the African Games than Egypt.

The North African country has amassed an astonishing 1826 medals in 12 editions (752 gold, 551 silver, 523 bronze).

Since 2015, they have topped the medal table in every single edition. And they were at the forefront in Accra once again, clinching 192 medals.

But they set a new mark, becoming the first country in the history of the games to win 100 gold medals or more after winning 103 gold medals in Ghana.

They led the way in weightlifting (36), wrestling (18), taekwondo (16), Karate (15), table tennis (11). These disciplines represent five of the top 10 medal-winning disciplines in the competition.

Ghana’s record-breaking campaign

Ghana’s biggest medal haul at the African Games was 27 in the 1973 edition. In 2019, the West African country mustered just 13 medals. As hosts, the nation was expected to break that barrier, and they did it in spectacular fashion.

41 medals in the arm-wrestling discipline helped propel Ghana to an astonishing 69 medals, at least two times more than their previous best. Also, Ghana won gold in boxing at the games for the first time since 1991 after four candidates; Mohammed Amadu, Mohammed Aryeetey, Joseph Commey and Samuel Takyi were all successful in their charge.

These 69 medals are further broken down to 19 gold, 29 silver and 21 bronze.

As a result, the hosts finished sixth on the medal table in the just-ended edition and are 8th overall with 249 medals (55 gold, 83 silver, 111 bronze).

No Ghanaian earned automatic qualification to the 2024 Olympic Games. However, the swimming team has been guaranteed two wildcard slots in Paris.

Athletes will also have a chance until June 30, 2024, to meet the Olympic standard. This should allay the fears of Ghanaians.

Organisation started poorly, ended well

It was anything but a smooth ride for Ghana. At the start of the competition, Ghanaian athletes voiced out their displeasure at preparations towards the competition.

“The equipment we used to play did not come early. We only received our rackets on Friday morning. Even with the shoes, I received a size 37 whilst I wear a size 47 shoes. It is not fair to us,” badminton player Leslie Addo revealed to 3Sports and Onua Sports earlier in the competition.

There were videos of cyclists having to withdraw from races due to faulty bicycles, lights going out at the Cape Coast stadium and reports that the Theodosia Okoh hockey pitch was not ready, causing an outrage on social media. This prompted sports minister Mustapha Ussif to deliver the famous phrase “there are a lot of positives” during the presser.

Later, South Africa withdrew from the hockey competition, citing poor planning and revealing fears over the quality of pitch. But Ghana pulled through, pushing the ‘fill the stadium’ campaign in football and other disciplines.

From the heat of the competition to the end, fewer complaints were made about organization.

A learning experience

Ghana had to push the competition back from August 2023 to March 2024 due to challenges getting the required facilities ready and had to deal with some negativity during the games.

It was a lesson for every stakeholder involved but a good lesson learned.