How Ghana’s bronze medalist Joseph Paul Amoah nearly gave up on athletics

On Saturday, August 6, 2022, Joseph Paul Amoah won Ghana’s first medal in the 200-meter dash at the Commonwealth Games since 1974.

However, prior to that achievement, did you know Joseph Paul Amoah nearly gave up on being an athlete to focus on his studies?

JP Amoah as he is affectionately known was an all-round athlete

Read full articleplaying football, basketball and whatever sport that came his way.

Back in Junior High School at Mary Mother of Good Counsel School, JP Amoah was the Sports Prefect.

However, when he arrived at Prempeh College which is one of the most well-accomplished schools in Ghana, Amoah was more focused on making the grades to further his studies. As such he was not fully committed to sports, unlike his other sports mates.

At the Super-Zonal athletics championship which Prempeh College had not won in six years, JP Amoah who was in his final year was charged to lead the school to win a medal in the 100-meter race.

The athlete was able to qualify for the finals but came 4th and missed out on mounting the podium. A situation that he said nearly made him give up on stepping on the tracks again.

“When I left Prempeh College, I told myself I was going to stop running…” JP Amoah told TV3 in an interview.

True to his words, Amoah called time on athletics but there was pressure on him to come out of retirement at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where the athletics coach had noticed his prowess on the tracks back in high school.

“When I went to KNUST, the coach, Mohammed Abu had seen me run in high school and he heard that I had gained admission to the school so they contacted me and then I told them I wasn’t going to run. In my last race at the Prempeh College, I felt like I had done my part,” he said.

At first, when he was told to join the KNUST athletics team, JP Amoah was adamant but his uncle managed to convince him to give it another chance.

“When they contacted me and I wasn’t showing up, I think someone got my uncle’s contact and then they told him that I did not want to join the team so he called me and advised me that if you know how to do something you do not have to let them beg you to do it...”.



Amoah faced stiff competition at KNUST but he gave some of their best athletes a run for their money.

After winning the 100m and 200m races in the Fresher’s games, Amoah said “…that was where I met Martin Owusu Antwi. He was the fastest on the team then so he was happy to have me on as someone who was also doing so well. We trained together and built a great relationship.”

KNUST gave JP Amoah the lift he needed to go on to conquer the world and has now become a national hero in 200m.



JNA/KPE