When the world’s elite athletes meet in Berlin, Germany for the World Athletics Championships, Ghana may not be represented and this was made known through an email correspondence.
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Berlin 2009 will take place at the Berlin Olympic Stadium from August 15-23, 2009.
The information became public after Ghana’s athletics association wrote to one of Ghana’s top athletes, Berlin-based Vida Anim informing her of the country’s inability to participate in the championships.
Speaking to the BBC, the disappointed Vida Anim said she is shocked by the email. “It is very hard on me, having trained from January to July and then one day you receive an email saying you can’t compete.”
Vida Anim is even more disappointed for the fact that she lives and trains in Berlin, the venue of the championships and yet she is not likely to compete.
She has already communicated to her other colleagues, Aziz Zakary and Ignatius Gaizer.
Since the coming into office of a new government in Ghana there have been several key removals from office and appointment of public office holders. The country’s sports associations have been hard hit as hurried elections were held and new officials were elected. But some of the officials who were removed from office have challenged their removal and have appealed to world bodies seeking redress.
Ghana, though has not been suspended by the IAAF, the organization has rejected the newly elected officials of the Athletics Association because it says “they were not democratically elected.” The IAAF has therefore directed the Ghana association to elect new officials through democratic means.
In the meantime therefore, according to the BBC, the IAAF has asked Ghana to make a written undertaken to it that it would elect new officials democratically before athletes from the country are allowed to participate in the Championship that comes up in 12 days from today.
The World Championships is every athletes dream.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
It is very disgraceful that Ghana can not send a team to Berlin.