Algiers, July 17, GNA - Ghana's All Africa Games long jump recorder holder, Ignatius Gaisah has asked the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) to improve its annual awards to make it more attractive to national athletes. Gaisah who has won the award three consecutive times said he had nothing concrete to show for mounting the podium three times as a recipient of the award.
"I have won it three times but all I get is a citation, a trophy and a handshake and I think the award deserves a better reward that it had been."
Gaisah, who arrived at the Games Village in Taleb Abdel Rahman in the suburb of Ben Aknoun in Algiers from his base in Holland said he was determined to win again with a superlative performance in his event. "I am determined to retain the award and I believe nobody can take it away from me, but it is necessary to improve the reward to make it more competitive and fuel anxiety among the nation's top athletes." Gaisah said he was amazed that girls do the catwalk and shake their hips at beauty pageants and other reality shows and walk away with cars and fat cheques, while athletes burn volumes of calories to prepare for competitions and win honours for Ghana but are only rewarded with handshakes. The Africa champion said it would just be proper for SWAG to establish a new relationship with corporate Ghana so as to raise the annual awards to a higher level.
"SWAG's 'Sports Personality of the Year' is a big title that must go with a reward, commensurate with the title, and it is high time corporate Ghana teamed up with SWAG to give it that kind of identity," he added. On the Africa Games, Gaisah said he was in Algiers as the defending champion and was very much aware of the challenges his reign posed to him.
The champion said he was determined to retain his title but could not say if he could improve upon his own Games record of 8.30 metres. Gaisah broke the Games record twice in Abuja in 2003 when he leapt 8.28 metres in his fourth jump only to erase that with a leap of 8.30 in his fifth and final jump.
