Former world’s fastest man Asafa Powell to visit Ghana

The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) has confirmed that Jamaican-born international sports icon, Asafa Powell, will be visiting Ghana from the 27th of February to the 9th of March 2023.

A former world record holder in the 100-meter sprint, Asafa Asafa, who is married to Ghanaian model Alyshia Powell, will be accompanied by their two children.

A native of Spanish Town-Jamaica, Powell will be in the West African state for the first time at the invitation of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC).

He set the 100-meter world record twice, between June 2005 and May 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds.

The strong sprinter has never taken longer than 10 seconds in a race, and his best time of 9.72 seconds puts him in fourth place on the all-time list of men’s 100-meter runners.

Powell was credited with breaking the 10-second barrier more times than any other athlete on September 1, 2016: “97 times.”

Powell also once held the world record for the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.09 seconds, set on 27 May 2010 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil, he added a gold medal to his collection in the 4 x 100 metres relay.

The President of the GOC, Mr. Ben Nunoo Mensah, confirmed that once in Ghana, the 40-year-old will be involved in a number of charity and social engagements that will be covered by the local and international media.

“Asafa will pay a courtesy call on H.E. the President of the Republic at the Jubilee House and also engage the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS), the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), the Local Organising Committee of the African Games in Accra in 2023, as well as the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) on how best Ghana sports can benefit from his huge image on the international sports arena.”

The Director of Communications at the GOC; Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, said these activities have been carefully put together by the GOC.

“Asafa’s visit is aimed at inspiring, motivating, and promoting the development of athletics  and the interest of our youth in the sport.”

Apart from strengthening Ghana-Jamaica relations, Asafa’s visit will also see him hold various sports clinics and visit some senior and Junior High Schools, as well as all sports facilities under construction for the next All African Games, slated to be hosted in Accra.