William Amponsah, Juliana Lariba Sakat win big at 2022 National Cross Country

William Amponsah, leading long-distance athlete from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) emerges the 2022 Menʹs National Cross-Country champion.

The 24-year-old, who represented the Central Region, clocked 28:16:71 in Akim Oda on Saturday, February 26 to finish ahead of 91 other competitors in Saturday morning’s race.

In a race featuring 2020 champion Mohammed Aziz and 2021 winner Basit Afful, Amponsah recorded a time of 1:08:99 better than second-placed Koogo Atia. The Central Region road-runner revealed that possessing the right mentality was key to his success.

“Consistent delivery is very key. If you dream of conquering and becoming a champion, you must first conquer your fears and doubts and also connect your inner energies,” he told the press after the race.

The 24-year-old also raved about his form. “Different athletes operate at different levels. If you are in class 2, you can’t be the best in class 4. It is a simple principle. Everybody is within their class and this is my level and my class in the game.”

Meanwhile, he dreams of chalking some global success as this year’s competition forms part of a series of qualification events to select Team Ghana for Accra 2023 All African Games.

Elsewhere, Juliana Lariba Sakat, 25-year-old, who hails from the Upper East Region, beat 91 other competitors with a time of 35:07.90 in Akim Oda Sports Stadium in the Eastern Region on Saturday, February 26, 2022, to emerge winner in the women’s division.

Despite having 2021 champion Belinda Segbobu and 2020 winner Ramata Abdulai both in action, Lariba still recorded an impressive time to finish ahead of them. And, she has vowed to keep her sublime fine form ahead of the Games which comes off in August 2023.

“I have been working hard for Ghana all the time and I will keep this fire burning till 2023 for the Games,” she told the media.
Ghana’s national record time in the women’s category is 30:01:00 and she says she has firmly set her sights on lowering the long-standing record for the division.

The 2022 edition themed “Running Towards the 13th African Games” was largely dominated by the University of Education, Winneba duo, Lariba Sakat and William Amponsah. Key personalities such as the Director-General of National Sports Authority (NSA), Prof. Peter Twumasi and Board Chairman of NSA, Hon. Seth Panwum for both the male and female categories were upbeat of Ghana’s prospect for Accra 2023.

Meanwhile, each of the 16 regions fielded 12 athletes, 6 men and 6 women. In all, a total of 192 athletes participated.