Ghana’s women’s team has qualified for the 4x100m relay final at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, while the men’s team made the final but was disqualified.
The women’s team advanced to the final despite finishing fifth in a difficult semi-final on Saturday morning.
Hor Halutie, Gifty Oku, Latifa Ali, and Mary Boakye produced a season-best 44.32 seconds to earn one of two non-automatic qualifying spots.
Thirty minutes after the women’s race, the men’s team qualified for the 4x100m final with an impressive performance in their semi-final.
Sean Safo-Antwi, Benjamin Azamati, Barnabas Ageh, and Abdul Rasheed Saminu finished third and earned automatic qualification with a time of 39.05 seconds.
However, they were disqualified.
According to organisers, Ghana did not list Abdul Rasheed Saminu as the anchor leg runner, but rather Joseph Paul Amoah.
The Ghana Athletics Association decided to withdraw Amoah from the relay so that he could concentrate on the 200m final scheduled for Saturday evening.
The rule states that changes to a team’s lineup must be confirmed at least one hour before the race. Ghana failed to notify organizers of their change, resulting in disqualification.
Earlier on Saturday, Abigail Kwarteng finished fifth in the women’s high jump final after failing to clear a height of 1.92 on three attempts, and Rose Yeboah finished seventh after failing to clear a height of 1.89.
Ghana has won three medals so far in Birmingham, two more than they did in Gold Coast four years ago