Benjamin Azamati, photograph courtesy of African Put up On-line
This week, Deji Ogeyingbo wrote this function on Benjamin Azamati, a Ghanan sprinter who runs for West Texas. I feel that you’ll benefit from the piece!
Benjamin Azamati rising regularly to the highest of African sprinting after his newest exploits in Austin
Only a few athletics fans would have heard the identify Benjamin Azamati within the sprinting world. Rightly so, as a result of he appears to be taking every race as a studying curve, whereas additionally popping up with some excellent occasions that take the world by storm.
Austin is one such venue the place he appears to have already got a knack for producing astonishing occasions. For the second yr in a row, Azamati scorched the Austin observe over 100m whereas competing for West Texas A & M. This time, it wasn’t simply an NCAA Division II report: Azamati’s wind-legal 9.90 equaled the fourth-fastest mark in collegiate historical past, no matter division.
Benjamin Azamati, photograph courtesy of gobuffs.com (photograph by Trevor Fleeman)
Precisely one yr in the past, Azamati went 9.97 (+1.5) on the identical meet to demolish a 38-year-old NCAA DII report previously held by Darrell Inexperienced. Earlier than the season was over, Azamati added 4 extra marks superior to Inexperienced’s better of 10.08 and owned the 5 quickest marks in NCAA DII historical past.
The time ensured that he matched Trayvon Bromell at 9.90 and solely trails 2017 Bowerman winner Christian Coleman (9.82), 2019 Bowerman finalist Divine Oduduru (9.86), and 2011 Bowerman winner Ngoni Makusha (9.89) on the all-time chart.
All these performances did not simply come out of the blue. The writings have been on the wall, contemplating his meteoric rise from his days at Presbyterian boys’ secondary college to the College of Ghana the place he partook within the African College Video games in Cairo to develop into the quickest College athlete on the continent.
Additionally, on the African video games in Rabat he alongside Joseph Paul Amoah, Sean Safo Antwi, and Martin Owusu Antwi received gold within the males’s 4×100 relay race.
Final yr within the 100m, he ran the five-fastest occasions in NCAA DII historical past highlighted by his 9.97 on the Texas Relays, which was the quickest time on this planet on the time and the quickest anybody had run in Ghana. He broke the report of Leo Myles Miles (9.98s) which had stood for 22 years and went undefeated within the NCAA DII occasion.
He capped off his 2021 season on the Tokyo Olympics when he could not’ make it previous the heats, however he put up an honest present with a ten.13s, whereas additionally coming off with helpful expertise. Maybe, the spotlight of the video games was when he mixed with Amoah, Safo Antwi, and Emmanuel Yeboah to interrupt the lads’s 4x100m Nationwide Report by clocking 38.08.
This yr, Azamati’s indoor season has additionally been nothing in need of excellent. In late February, the 24-year-Previous clocked a time of 20.57s on the Lone star championship in Lubbock to equal his Ghana’s 200m Indoor report. It additionally meant that he clocked the second-fastest 200m time in Division II historical past and he is now the nation’s chief in each occasions.
On the identical meet in Lubbock, the sprinter broke the all-time meet report within the 60m with the second-fastest time in NCAA Division II historical past, working 6.55. Azamati had earlier run 6.55, a brand new Private Better of 6.54 in early February.
Awards have additionally adopted his exploits on the observe as Azamati was named the Lone Star Convention Male Monitor Athlete of the Yr for the second consecutive season following his efficiency on the NCAA Division II Indoor Monitor & Subject Championships this month.
He turned the primary student-athlete since 2017 to earn the award in consecutive seasons. The sophomore from Akim Oda, Ghana, tallied 18 factors on the 2022 NCAA Division II Indoor Monitor and Subject Championships, profitable the 60m (6.63) for the second time whereas ending runner-up within the 200 (21.32).
His newest exhibiting in Austin has catapulted him to be the seventh quickest man in Africa. It is a modest place to be at this level, contemplating the present quickest man in Africa, Ferdinand Omanyala was nonetheless working 10.00s this time final yr.
Now, after his newest exhibiting in Austin, Azamati is among the quickest athletes in collegiate historical past. By the top of the yr, we would as effectively be speaking extra about him.
