The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Speedsters Club has been launched at the Silva Platta Restaurant in Accra with the selection of three budding athletes to initiate Ghana’s search for the champion who is capable of becoming World or Olympic Star by 2020.
Reks Brobby, founder of Ghana’s Fastest Human which has given birth to the GNPA Speedsters Club said the three sprinters were selected on merit, having won all the local championships in the country in their age categories.
He named the trio as Desmond Aryee, Ida Mensah and Gifty Oku.
Desmond Aryee has been a sensational athlete since he started running the 100 and 200 meters at St. Aquinas SHS. Now studying Computer Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, he represented Ghana at the All African university championship in South Africa and won gold in the 100 meters to become the Fastest University Student in Africa.
Ida Mensah was Sports Prefect at Wesley Girls SHS and effectively combines education and sports. Now at level 200 at the University of Ghana, Legon studying Business Administration, she has been a consistent participant and winner of Ghana’s Fastest Human since 2013 and represented Ghana at the ll Africa University Games and was fastest under18 in Ghana. She keeps on improving her time and now her personal best is 11.81 timed at El Wak Stadium this year.
Gifty Oku turned 15 this year and she is the fastest 15year old female in Ghana, having won the National Under 15 category of Ghana’s fastest human in 2015 and 2016. Her current time of 12.21 seconds makes her trainable to become a super athlete. The natural strong sprinter from the Central Region is now in Form Three at the University of Ghana Basic School at Legon.
Mrs. Bruce Annan, an official of the GNPC, official sponsor of the Speedsters Club commended Rex Brobbey for his vision to find athletes to run and win medals for Ghana and GNPC is proud to be part of the long-term project with a promising future.
She said children should maintain education which GNPC will ensure to prepare the athletes to achieve their goals. She noted that it is a new dawn for Ghana athletics and encouraged the three student athletes to take their education and training serious.
Reks Brobby explained that the selected athletes will be camped at trained by experts in nutrition, psychology and new improved training methods that will distinguish them from local athletes.
The experts include former athletes / coaches, medical doctors and sports psychologists to fine tune them to become the best for Ghana at the next Olympic Games in 2020, which is the target of the seven-year project.
Saka Acquaye, Technical Director of the National Sports Authority who represented the Minister of Youth & Sports praised the project as a laudable venture and congratulated the athletes and sponsors.
He said out of the 40 Sports Associations, the Speedsters Club with encouragement from the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) seem to be doing the right thing. He urged the media to promote the Speedsters Club for other companies to join and support the project.
Other sponsors of the Speedsters Club are Moringa King, Pippas Gym and Adidas.
By Sammy Heywood Okine
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(Via: NewsGhana)