Re: Ghanaian Swimmers Fail at All Africa Games

Reference
to the headline article published on the Ghanaweb website on Sunday 11th September,
2011 with the source from Daily Graphic.
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/SportsArchive/artikel.php?ID=218489&comment=7101913#com

The
headline; Ghanaian Swimmers Fail at All Africa Games was such a low key played
by the author, however showing his/her ignorance in the sport. In the midst of
ignorance and failure for some journalist, reducing their scope of reportage to
only football, always show in whatever they try to write about other sport. We
must all note that Ghana abounds in talents in swimming but have we asked
ourselves how we will enormously benefit in the swimming sport and the need to
develop it for more exposure.

Swimming,
the only sport that Ghana can haul a lot of medal in the future is given a
little attention in the country. We need to know where Ghana swimming has
reached in Africa and plan well for the future.

Yes,
Maputo was important, we must be thankful that Ghana presented some swimmers
that are well placed on the African continent by all standards at the just
ended all Africa games. I’m sorry to say the author did not have his facts
right because Joachim Ofosuhene-Wise did not swim in the event he mentioned. It
was total falsehood. Instead, he should encourage these young swimmers who swam
for the first time with great Olympians at age 24 – 33, only five seconds away
from the gold medal in some of the events.

However,
some of our swimmers were at ages 14 and 19 years. Another wrong notion about Ralph
and Rhudi was about the medals the young swimmers made at the National Unity
Games. In fact, Ralph alone hauled in 11 medals and Ghana must appreciate the
parents, the coaches of all the swimmers who made it to Maputo because it has
always been private support that has pushed swimming to such height. Above all,
the All Africa Games is not only meant for medals, it is by large to champion
sporting excellence in Africa and to develop sports in various countries.

It’s
about time Ghana invested in swimming to win laurels for Ghana.


Theophilus
W. Edzie
President
Ghana Swimming
Association