By Şevket F. ERBAY
Ghanaian fans were left disappointed in the highly anticipated 100 meters, while Cameroon achieved a historic success by winning gold medals in both the men’s and women’s races. Heavy favourites Nigeria still reached the podium in both finals but had to concede the gold medals to their neighbours, Cameroon.
The Cameroonian delegation began the second day of the African Athletics Championships in Accra with sad news from Yaoundé, the country’s capital. Kalkaba Malboum, who had served as president of the Confederation of African Athletics since 2003, had passed away at the age of 75. Having devoted much of his life to athletics, Malboum was unfortunately unable to witness Cameroon’s historic achievement at the African Championships.
That same evening, both 100-meter finals ended in victory for Cameroon. In the women’s race, Herverge Kole Etame edged out Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma by just 0.003 seconds in an extremely close finish that took a long time to determine. Running into a strong headwind, both athletes clocked 11.49 seconds, but Cameroon won the gold, marking the country’s first title in the event in 26 years. Nigeria’s lengthy protest proved unsuccessful, while Liberia’s Thelma Davies finished third. Davies, who also holds U.S. citizenship, was born 26 years ago in a refugee camp in Accra during Liberia’s civil war, and achieved the most significant individual success of her career there.
The men’s race was also affected by the headwind, preventing fast times. Despite being regarded as one of the top sprinters in recent years, Emmanuel Eseme had never won a gold medal at the African Championships. He finally broke his curse in Ghana, running 10.26 seconds and becoming Cameroon’s first-ever men’s 100-meter champion in the history of the championships, which began in 1979. The 32-year-old Eseme had also won the African Games 100-meter title in the same stadium two years earlier.
In addition to the historic 100-meter double, Cameroon earned a gold medal in the women’s discus throw through Nora Atim’s 57.00-meter effort and a bronze medal in the shot put thanks to Billy Jospen Takougum, bringing the country’s medal tally to four in the first two days. The Central African nation had last celebrated three titles at the championships back in 2002.
