Gaisah eyes final in World Championships
Ghanaian long jumper Ignatius Gaisah says his goal is to get into the final of the men’s long jump at ongoing World Championships in Daegu.
The 2005 World Silver medalist has hit top form again jumping 8.26m ahead of the meet and seems to have fully recovered from a career threatening knee injury that nearly derailed his ambitions.
In an exclusive interview with E TV Sports, Gaisah said he aims to take one step at a time in his quest to reclaim his place at the top.
“It has been a long time since I went to the world championship outdoor but my main goal is to get to the final. And I’m certain that I will definitely get to the final,” he said.
The Dutch based athlete, who sustained an injury three years ago, feels very emotional going to the championship.
“I’m very happy I don’t know even how to describe it,” he said,
“Looking back way back three years ago when I had the injury, there were a lot of rumours that I can never get back again.”
He added “but I always wanted to prove myself and prove my critics wrong. Now here I’m, I have made the A mark to this competition so definitely I’m going to go all out to get to the final.”
Gaisah is currently ranked 11th in the world but faces tough competition from a strong field that also includes the current world best jumper Mitchell Watt of Australia in Daegu on Thursday.
He reckons it will take something special for anybody to the win the championship.
“Whoever has a good day will win the competition.”
“My goal is to get to the final and If I get to the final, its going to be a different thing altogether.”
“The injury free athlete is going to win. I’m praying that I will be one who will have the luckiest day.”
Meanwhile, the man with this season’s best jump (8.54m) in the world, Australia’s Mitchell Watt has acknowledged that he is facing a tough field of competitors for the converted prize.
He told this reporter that getting to the final will not be as easy as it seems.
“It is a very tough field. Gaisah is in the field and he has been jumping very well this year. Obviously he has won a silver medal at the world championships before and he knows what it takes.
“Yeah, we have got a lot of reigning Olympic champions and world champions in the field and lot of people jumping well.
“Just getting into the final is going to be pretty tough. It’s going to be pretty interesting.
By Erasmus Kwaw