Ghana Wins West Africa Triathlon Championship

By Michael D. Abayateye

GHANA made a huge mark as a force to reckon with on the global stage in triathlon with a dominant performance in the maiden edition of the West Africa Zone 1 Triathlon Championship held on Sunday at the University of Ghana poolside.

The event drew six other West African countries and over 100 participants for the competition.

Ghana's Mark Ofori Twum won the male event and was followed by Mamadou Diop from Senegal with Abdul-Rauf Zacharia also from Ghana settling for third position.

In the adult women event, Ghana's Laila W. Zangwio beat of stiff competition from Anita Ndiaye (Senegal) and Mariam Ifelunwa Ogechie (Nigeria) to emerge winner.

For the youth event, Ebenezer Osabutey (Ghana) put up an outstanding performance to emerge winner and was followed by Abdoula Wahab from Niger and Abdul Zakai from Niger.

In an interview after the competition, president of the Ghana Triathlon Federation (GTF), Bawa Fuseini, described the competition as a success and would build on it to host other international competitions.

Following the success of the West Africa championship, Ghana, he said, would next year host the Africa event, adding that, the Federation would wait for the approval for its organisation.

"The future is very bright for the sport and we will continue to organise competitions that will engage athletes and put them in the shape for international competitions," he stated.

The GTF boss congratulated all winners for their efforts and asked other participants to train and also become champions in subsequent competitions.

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