Abeiku Jackson made history as he became the first Ghanaian to win a swimming medal at the African Games.
The 23-year-old achieved this feat by picking up a silver medal at the men’s 50-meter butterfly on Sunday. He swam a time of 24.23 seconds, just 0.19 seconds short of the national record for the 50-meter butterfly that he set in 2020 at the African Zone 2 Championships in Accra, Ghana.
On Tuesday, Jackson picked up his second medal at the event this time in the men’s 100 meter swimming. It was dramatic because the initial final took place on Monday afternoon where the swimmers finished the race despite efforts by officials to draw their attention after a false start.
Swimmers were given a chance to either accept their times from the race or participate in a re-race. Abdalla Nasr and Jarden Eaton finished first and second respectively and opted for the former whilst Jackson, who came in third, chose the latter.
As a result, the Ghanaian was involved in a re-race on Tuesday morning and won the race with a time of 53.80 seconds. However, his time still fell short of the Nasr and Eaton so Jackson essentially won bronze again.
“I am proud of every athlete in Ghana because I know the effort that they put in for these Games. Hearing the fans scream my name during the race excites me because I know we’re getting close to something great. The main goal is to hear the country’s national anthem being played and winning a gold medal so we raise the flag of Ghana high,” Jackson said after the 100m butterfly final.
Regardless, at 23 the captain of Ghana’s swim team will be very proud of his achievement. He started swimming when he was just four years old due to how passionate his father Kodwo Abbiw Jackson is about the sport.
At the time, his father was the coach and founder of Tesano Dolphins, a swim club that grew to become the national team.
At a young age, Jackson stood above his peers and quickly climbed into the ranks. Before he was 10 years he was already competing in tier one of the team – a list that comprised the best eight swimmers in the national team.
Jackson was unique, most swimmers struggled with the butterfly stroke because of how physically demanding it was but he preferred it. In fact, the butterfly became his favourite stroke and as of now is just over a second slower than his freestyle. It comes as no surprise to see him specialise in the butterfly and mostly participate in that event.
Freestyle is every swimmer’s fastest stroke because at every point a part of your body is involved in an action that is propelling you forward. Interestingly, Jackson’s butterfly was faster than the freestyle of some of his seniors growing up.
He started to bulk up after 10 and grew stronger as he officially became the fastest swimmer in all strokes on the national team as he approached adolescence. It wasn’t surprising due to how disciplined Abeiku was. He was watchful of what he ate and was always the first to get to the gym for physical training – an activity many team members didn’t enjoy.
Growing up I was part of Ghana’s swim team. Abeiku Jackson’s talent was evident from a young age and we could all tell he’ll become a star.#AfricaGames2023 | #SportsUltras
— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) March 12, 2024
As of now, Jackson holds the national record for 13 swimming disciplines but still looks forward to winning his first gold medal for the country in a major competition. He’s already won gold medals in regional competitions in Africa and even the African Championships but he’s hungry for more.
In an interview with Owuraku Ampofo on June 5, 2020, he said: When I started a drafted a plan with my dad. We wanted to improve every year. My aim is to pick up a gold medal for Ghana one day.”
His dad buttressed this point and told 3Sports in 2016 that he believes Jackson can win a medal at the 2024 Olympics.
In 2016, shortly after the Olympics Games in Rio, I went to cover Abeku on one of his training sessions and got a rare interview with his dad. He predicted an Olympic medal in 2024.
Now that Abeku has won one at the African Games, it sets the tone nicely. #3Sports https://t.co/Tge1rXPfkb pic.twitter.com/u1w092t34M
— Yaw (@theyawofosu) March 11, 2024
At 23, the world is at Jackson’s feet as he looks poised to continue to write his legacy in swimming. As things stand, he will go down as Ghana’s greatest but beyond the continent how far can he go?