Ghana names 16 first-time Olympians for Rio 2016

The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) has announced a team of 16 first-time Olympians for the 2016 Olympic Games to staged in Rio, Brazil from August 5-21.

The team is comprised of 11 track and field athletes, 2 swimmers - Kaya Forson and Abeiku Jackson, a weightlifter - Christian Amoah, a Hungarian-born judoka - Szandra Szogedi, and a boxer - Abdul Wahid Omar. Omar was one of Ghana’s two bronze medalists from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The athletes include six individual qualifiers: Flings Owusu-Agyapong (100m), Janet Amponsah (200m), John Ampomah (Javelin), Emmanuel Dasor (200m), Alex Amankwah (800m), and Sean Safo-Antwi (100m) as well as the 15th-placed women’s 4x100m relay team to be selected from Gemma Acheampong, Beatrice Gyaman, Dorcas Gyimah, Persis William-Mensah, and Akua Obeng-Akrofi.

Below is the full list:

Swimming - Kaya Forson and Abeiku Jackson

Weightlifting - Christian Amoah

Judo - Szandra Szogedi

Boxing - Abdul Wahid Omar

Athletics - Flings Owusu-Agyapong (100m), Janet Amponsah (200m), John Ampomah (Javelin), Emmanuel Dasor (200m), Alex Amankwah (800m) and Sean Safo-Antwi (100m) 

Women’s 4x100m relay - Gemma Acheampong, Beatrice Gyaman, Dorcas Gyimah, Persis William-Mensah, and Akua Obeng-Akrofi.