AAG: Injury knocks Gaisah out of finals

Algiers, 22 July, GNA - Ignatius Gaisah, the defending champion and Africa Games record holder in the men's long jump event and the brightest spot in the Ghanaian contingent before the commencement of the Algiers 9th All African Games is injured and out of the finals. Gaisah, who has won the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Sports Personality of the Year award for three runs aggravated his injury at training and was advised by team doctors to sit out of the final.

He said he had received treatment for the same injury in Germany and his doctors there certified him fit to participate in the Games but during the qualifiers, he aggravated the injury and the pain was too much for him to take into the competition.
The defending champion said he would go back and continue with his treatment in Europe and only hoped that he would be fit for the World Championship at the end of August.
He called for Ghanaians to pray for him so that he would recover early and regain his fitness for other challenges in the future. Gaisah leapt 7.80 metres on Friday to qualify for Sunday's finals. His distance was a far cry from his record of 8.30 metres which he set at Abuja in 2003.
Meanwhile other high profile jumpers at the Games were covering impressive distances before the finals.
Badja Ndiss Kaba of Senegal who won the triple jump made 8.03, while Nima Issam of Algeria was on 8.05, with South African Mokoena Kgotso on 8.21 metres.