Ghana’s National Swimming Team captain Abeiku Jackson, has underlined the significance of celebrating every achievement amidst Ghana’s impressive performance at the ongoing 2023 African Games.
Despite a challenging start, Ghana secured four medals on Sunday, propelling them up the medal table.
Weightlifter Winnifred Ntumi led the charge with a stellar performance, securing Ghana’s first three medals, including a gold and two silvers.
Inspired by Ntumi, Abeiku Jackson made history by clinching Ghana’s first-ever swimming medal at the African Games, securing a silver in the Men’s 50 Metre Butterfly final.
Expressing his happiness after the win, Jackson emphasised the need to acknowledge and celebrate incremental progress in performance during the competition.
He stated, “You have to celebrate every single achievement; if you don’t celebrate every little achievement, how would you move forward? It’s obviously a stepping stone, but we have to celebrate it.”
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Jackson highlighted the collective effort of the team, citing fellow Ghanaian swimmer Harry Stacey’s fifth-place finish in the event as another positive step.
🏊♂️ Our first medal in swimming :
Men’s 50 m Butterfly
🇬🇭 Abeiku Jackson 2nd 24.23 silver 🥈
Ali Khalafalla 23.93- Egypt Gold
Hardin Eaton 24.42 South Africa #3SportsGH #Accra2023 pic.twitter.com/uUixyEJeUO— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) March 10, 2024
Looking ahead, he expressed optimism, saying, “It’s a stepping stone, yesterday Harry got fourth position (Men’s 100 Metre Freestyle)… today we have a silver medal. Who knows what tomorrow holds? We just look forward to keep pushing and pushing until we reach the final goal.”
Jackson’s success in cinching a medal marks a remarkable improvement given his previous seventh-place finish in the 2019 edition.
The 13th African Games, running until March 23, continues to showcase outstanding performances by African athletes across various disciplines.