Joseph Paul Amoah, Ghana’s anchor leg runner in the 4x100m relay, attributed the team’s disqualification at the Paris 2024 Olympics to poor coordination and communication issues exacerbated by the stadium’s noise levels.
In heat 2, where they competed against teams from Canada, France, Jamaica, China, and Liberia, Team Ghana struggled with baton exchanges, resulting in their sixth-place finish being invalidated due to a changeover violation.
A delay during the first exchange left Ghana trailing behind several competitors, and it appeared that Joe Paul Amoah received the baton outside the designated changeover zone.
“The stadium was really loud. Instead of using it as an advantage, I think it broke us in a way,” Amoah said after the race.
“We struggled to hear the calls, but we did our best in the circumstances.”
The mishap echoed a similar issue faced during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where Ghana also encountered baton exchange errors in the final.
Benjamin Azamati, who ran the second leg of the relay and had previously progressed to the semifinals in the 100m, expressed disappointment with the performance.
“Overall, no excuses. It was not a better race from us. We know we can do better. We just have to perform better,” he said.
With this disqualification, Ghana’s campaign at Paris 2024 ends without a medal, following earlier setbacks in swimming and high jump.
