Ghana sprinter and member of the gold-medal-winning quartet at the recent African Games will be in action on the opening day of the IAAF World Championships.
The Coppin State University athlete will be looking to place well in the preliminary rounds today.
Before he goes out the blocks at the Khalifa International Stadium,
Joseph Paul Amoah – who everyone calls Joe Paul – will know his personal best of 10.01sec puts him into a good, confident mood.
Ghana’s relay teams, of which he is a part, will not be in action until later at the meet.
Among the over 1,900 athletes gathered here for the 10-day event are 10 who bleed Ghana and are expected to hoist the flag with great performances.
Team’s ready
The country’s men’s relay team of Martin Owusu, Benjamin Azameti, Joseph Paul Amoah and Sean Safo-Antwi alongside their female counterparts, Hor Halutie, Gemma Acheampong, Persis William-Mensah and Flings Agyapong are raring to go.
210 countries will participate in 24 disciplines over the period.
And, of course, the usual suspects are in town: reigning 100m world champion Justin Gatlin, six-time Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix from the United States and sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson from Jamaica Dina Asher-Amith form Great Britain, South Africa’s Luvo Mayango (long jump champion), Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech (steeple chase champion).
Don’t make it
The big absentees include double Olympic champion Caster Semenya, 800m champion David Rudisha, 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk. Conspicuously missing, as he has been since 2017, is Usain Bolt. It is the first time in 10 years his larger than life persona does not bestraddle the worlds.
Meanwhile, tickets for the finish line ahead of tonight’s opening ceremony are sold out for all 10 days of the event.
More than 200,000 spectators are expected at the renovated multipurpose, 40,000-capacity Khalifa venue.
An advanced open-air and environment-friendly cooling technology is installed to keep the pitch temperature at an optimum 26°C which can be reduced to a low of 17°C to balance the temperatures under which the world’s finest athletes will compete.
Red. Yellow. Green. Black.
Sprinter Hor Halutie will represent Ghana in the opening ceremony at 11pm local time (8pm Ghana time).
Below are the highlights for match day one:
Midnight Marathon
Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat bids for a World Championship hat-trick after victories in 2011 and 2013 but will her former team-mate Rose Chelimo, who now represents Bahrain, defend her title?
Opening Ceremony: Hor Halutie will represent Ghana – and hoist the flag!
Men’s 100m heats
Ghana’s Joseph Paul Amoah will be in action later today in the prelims.
Other highlights:
Women’s 800m heats, women’s pole vault qualification, women’s high jump qualification.
The coverage of the 2019 World Athletics Championships is sponsored by DBS Roofing and Adonko Bitters.