Alex Amankwah the first Ghanaian to qualify for Rio 2016

800m indoor record holder Alex Amankwah has become the first Ghanaian to qualify for Rio 2016 Olympic Games following a revision of the Rio qualification standards by athletics world governing body, the IAAF.

The Alabama University student ran a personal best 1.45.91s on May 2nd, and the qualifying standard has now been revised to 1.46.00 to reflect performances at the Beijing World Championships.

Amankwah thus qualified by 9/100ths of a second. He last competed for Ghana at 2015 All African Games in Congo-Brazzaville.

The entry standards for 17 events at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games were eased by the IAAF after its Council Meeting on 26th November to enable more athletes to qualify for Rio.

Many athletes are benefiting from the latest qualification review including Djibouti’s Abdi Waiss Mouhyadin (1500m)