ACCRA 2026: Joseph Paul Amoah Make It To The Men's 200m Final
Joseph Paul Amoah targets 200m podium finish
Joseph Paul Amoah is targeting a podium finish after booking his place in the men’s 200m final at the 2026 African Championships, cheered on by a partisan crowd at the University of Ghana Stadium.
The 29-year-old won the opening semi-final in 20.79 seconds to secure qualification for the final.
It has been a rollercoaster few weeks for the Coppin State University alumnus, who helped Ghana qualify for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing in the men’s 4x100m relay at the World Relays in Botswana.
Ten days later at the African Athletics Championships, he then narrowly missed out on a medal in the 100m after finishing fourth before returning to claim bronze with Ghana’s 4x100m relay team on Friday (15 May), despite the hosts being among the favourites for gold.
All of that within the span of 15 days could weigh heavily on any athlete, but Amoah, the reigning African Games 200m champion, is hoping home support can inspire another podium finish.
“My goal is to get through all the rounds and get to the final, and I’m happy I did that,” he told Olympics.com.
“Next target is to get on the podium, and I know how much support I always get here and hopefully I can draw a little energy from that to carry me through,” he added.
The man to beat in the final appears to be Côte d’Ivoire’s Cheickna Traore, who continued his impressive form after anchoring his country to men’s 4x100m gold. Traore comfortably won the third semi-final in 20.47s to advance.
Olympics.com