Some influential Ghanaian women in sports

Ghana’s sports scene has had some women achieving enviable feats over the years.

On the occassion of International Women’s Day, here are some names worthy of note.

Alice Anum

Alice Anum is in the history books as the first female to represent the country at the Olympic games in 1964.

She went on to participate in three successive Olympic Games in 1964 (Tokyo), 1968 (Mexico City) and 1972 (Munich).

At the 1965 All African Games which was held in Brazzaville, the 72-year old won gold medal in Long Jump.

She won a gold medal in 100m and 200m events at the 1973 All Africa Games held in Lagos.

Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoe

Mercy Tagoe has passed through all aspects of football; from playing for Black Queens at the World Cup in 1974 to getting a FIFA badge to officiate in games and becoming a coach.

She placed third at the WAFU Women’s Cup of Nations as a head coach of the Black Queens in 2019.

Adjoa Bayor

Consistent at the top for over a decade, Adjoa Bayor is regarded by many as the greatest ever to grace female football in Ghana.

Bayor got nominated 4 times for the African best player of the year – 2004, 2006, 2010 and went on to win it in 2004.

She participated in many tournaments with the Black Queens.

Theodosia Okoh

Theodosia Okoh is the first female chairman of the Ghana Hockey Association. She went on to become the President of the Ghana Hockey Federation for more than two decades, supervising historic qualifications to the World Cup and Olympic Games.

Vida Anim

Vida Anim is one of Ghana’s finest sprinters.

She was part of Ghana’s team at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The 37- year old has 15 medals to her name including three gold medals from 2006 African championship.

Magaret Simpson

Magaret Simpson is a heptathlete who has competed in numerous international competitions and won same.

The 37-year-old won her first medal at the African Junior Championship in 1999 and went on to place 13th after she was selected for Heptathlon in the 2001 World Championship Athletics.

She placed third in her first senior global outing at the World Athletic Championship in 2005.