Ghana High Jump Gold Medalist, Evans Cadman Yamoah, has shared his journey to clinching the gold medal at the 13th African Games.
Cadman, the sole representative for Ghana in the high jump event, attributed his victory to the overwhelming support from the home crowd.
He soared to gold with a record-breaking leap of 2.23m, becoming the latest sensation in the sport.
The African Games concluded with a grand ceremony at the University of Ghana on March 23, 2024.
During an interview on The Point of View, on Citi TV hosted by Bernard Avle, Cadman emphasized the crowd’s influence on his performance and gratefully acknowledged their role in his triumph.
He expressed his heartfelt thanks to the Ghanaian people, dedicating his medal to the nation and describing the crowd’s energy as the catalyst for his success.
“I want to express a profound gratitude to the people of Ghana for cheering me on and supporting me. Their presence did the magic and that gold medal I won is for the whole of Ghana. At that moment, I didn’t know what I was doing. It was the people, the atmosphere, the way people were cheering me on.
“I said to myself now or never, and I guess God did the magic. The crowd’s presence alone gave me extra confidence, the cheering did the wonders, l must say.”
Reflecting on his athletic beginnings in 2018, Cadman reminisced about his dominance in the high jump throughout his school years, despite initial hesitations due to witnessing injuries in the sport.
“I started high jump in 2018. Initially, I didn’t want to do it because I saw one of my seniors with severe injuries. In school, I won inter-school competitions and super-zonal, I dominated the high jump category for 4-5 years.
Cadman’s confidence was further bolstered by the presence of his family and friends, which he believes played a pivotal role in his performance.
“I believe we have been trained enough, and if you have good people around you, you shouldn’t be scared about what other people are bringing on board. What are you bringing to the table? Coming from the US to compete in my home country, I was not going to let anyone take that joy from us.
“My family, friends, people were around that confidence alone. Once I had good people around me, I didn’t care to show myself to the world.”
Bawa Fuseini, President of Ghana Athletics, revealed plans to nurture Cadman’s talent for future Olympic participation, with hopes of him qualifying through rankings.
“We’re hoping that we will prepare him for the Olympics. He can qualify by rankings.”
The Ghanaian team made history at the games, securing a record-breaking haul of sixty-eight medals, including nineteen golds, solidifying this as the nation’s most outstanding accomplishment in the event’s history.
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