The 2023 World Athletics Championship will see UK-based Ghanaian accountant and sprinter, Eugene Amo-Dadzie, make his debut on the track at age 31.
Amo-Dadzie's trajectory is intriguing. He abounded his talent and ambition of becoming a sprinter to work a 9-5 job only to go back to in his 30s.
If the saying 'what is meant to be, will be' was a person, then that is literally Euguene Amo-Dadzie who describes his journey as 'rare and unique'.
"There is an element of my journey that doesn’t really make sense. It’s not very logical. It’s very rare, very unique. I want people to look at it, be inspired by it, and know that it’s never too late,” he told TheGuardian.
He had a remarkable start in his formative years where he could run 11.3sec for 100m, but Amo-Dadzie's growth as an athlete did not follow the pattern of many others as he became more focused on books along the line, completed university, and became a senior accountant.
According to him, he used to watch championships on TV with a sense of regret that 'I could have done it'. But he did not consider hitting the tracks until his close friend triggered him and abused him with 'you wasted your talent'.
“I used to sit at home and watch championships thinking: ‘if I’d trained I could have made it’,” he says. “I was content to be the guy that could have done it. That was my story for years. One fateful day it all changed when I was literally playing football adjacent to an athletics track. My really good friends, who I went to school with, knew I was quick. For years, they would say to me: ‘you wasted your talent’. I just took the abuse, it was what it was. But that fateful day, God flicked a switch in my head."
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Currently, Amo-Dazdie heads to the World Championship as the 17th quickest man in the world this year, and holds the fourth best time in 100ms on the all-time list in Britain, which earned him the nickname 'World' fastest accountant.'
Since his decision to juggle work and athletics together in 2018, Amo-Dadzie has gone under the tutelage of renowned coach Steve Fudge and has developed year after year.
He reached the 100m semi-finals of the British championships and run a stunning time of 9.93sec in 100m in June to achieve the British all-time record.
“The 100m was going on, I think somebody won in 11.3sec. My mate turned over to me and says: ‘Why did you never try, why have you never given this thing a go?’ At that moment, I thought: ‘What do I have to lose?’ And, thank God, I sit here now, world’s fastest accountant, about to be on the world stage.”
Dazie feels ready for his debut championship and believes his multiple workloads will give him an edge over his colleagues.
“I’m able to lock in and perform when I need to but I’m doing so very much from a place of relaxation, a place of fun, I’m enjoying myself when I’m out there. I can switch off. I’ll do my track thing, then I put that day and I’m going home to play with my little girl. I’m going home to go on a date with my wife, I’m getting home to get some work done, I’m on a school governor’s meeting.”
Eugene Amo-Dadzie aims at inspiring people in his situation that it is possible to 'pick up their passion' when they feel ready.
“If you have a bit of belief and faith, it is never really too late to pick up the passion of something you always really wanted to do. If I can do what I’ve done, by the grace of God, then why can’t you?”
The 10-day competition is scheduled to start on Friday Saturday 19 to Sunday, August 27, 2023.
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