• He won and broke so many records during his hay days
• He was married to the late Marian Ewurama Addy
Former Ghanaian athlete, Ebenezer Oko Addy, is our guest for this edition of GhanaWeb’s Sports Check show.
Oko Addy was one of Team Ghana’s quartet that won gold at the 1996 Commonwealth Games after defeating the likes of Jamaica and the United States in the final of the Men’s 4x100 relay event.
After becoming the first Ghanaians to win gold for Ghana in a relay event, Oko Addy reveals that they ‘never got a penny’ for their efforts.
According to him, they were only rewarded with an invitation to the State House where they met and ate with the then Head of State, General Ankrah.
Reminiscing over events that led to their success in Kingston, Jamaica 57-years ago, Ebenezer Oko Addy said they owe their success to Ghana’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the then Sports Minister, Ohene Djan.
Touching on the current state Ghana’s athletics, the man who was known as 'Daddy Long Legs' said standards have fallen compared to their time.
For him, Team Ghana’s inability to win a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games is unpardonable.
According to him, committing a ‘lane violation’ in an Olympic final is enough indication that the coaches were not up to the task in preparing the team for the Men’s 4x100 final.
In the interview with GhanaWeb’s Joseph Adamafio, Ebenezer Oko Addy revealed his optimism in Ghana’s athletics team dominating the Commonwealth Games in 2023.
