Joseph Paul Amoah: How Usain Bolt and my uncle inspired me to make history for Ghana

Joseph Paul Amoah’s mind was a mix of uncertainty and determination as he knelt against the block at the start of the men’s 200m final at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

An African had not won a medal in this event in 16 years and the Ghanian wondered if this could be his moment.

“I went to Birmingham after I had recovered from an injury. Funnily enough, when I got there, I started feeling numbness in my body,” Joseph told Olympics.com.

This strange sensation dwindled his confidence levels, and as he waited for the starter’s gun to be fired, all he could think about was if the numbness would return.

To this day, Amoah still doesn’t know how he was able to put his worries to one side, and deliver one of his finest performances to win a bronze medal for Ghana.

“Honestly, I believe winning that medal was God’s doing. if I think back to what my body was going through even after I had trained, that position still surprises me,” the 27-year-old recalled.

With a time of 20.49s, Joseph held Ghana’s national record in the 200m for four years, until James Dadzie broke it in April 2023.

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Joseph Paul Amoah: The past

Growing up, Amoah never saw himself competing on the world stage for his country.

But the unwavering support of his uncle, Dr. Victor Antwi, changed this.

“I had potential in track and my uncle being a former track runner himself, gave me the needed boost to go all in,” he said.

This backing, combined with the inspiration Amoah drew from his hero, Usain Bolt, gave him the confidence to chase his dreams on the track.

“I am sure I am not the only one in the world influence by Usain Bolt. He is an icon and he did great things for the sport.”

Joseph Paul Amoah's journey to Baltimore

As a young boy, Amoah was a ‘sports guy and would engage in football, basketball, and volleyball’.

He eventually focused on track when he started high school at Prempeh College in Kumasi, Ghana, where he received accolades for being one of their top runners.

He took a break from sport after finishing school to focus on his Business Administration degree at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The KNUST athletics team had heard of his talent and tried to convince him to join the team, but Amoah was adamant that he wouldn’t, mainly because he felt he had accomplished all of his sporting goals in high school.

But the school team was resilient in their pursuit and eventually asked his uncle to convince his nephew to lace up his spikes once again.

Joseph eventually accepted and participated in his first Ghana University Games in 2016, where he won silver in the 4x100m relay.

He went on to compete at the All Africa University Games in South Africa and two years later, he was wearing the national team colours of Ghana at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, where he made it to the 200m semis.

“Making it to the semi-finals gave me a confidence boost mainly because I was in college at the time and I was competing against the pros in the big leagues,” he said.

Amoah’s transition from Ghana to the Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2017, was facilitated by his former KNUST teammate, Martin Owusu Antwi, who recommended him to the school’s athletics coaches.

“When he recommended me, the coaches were eager to recruit me into the team. They didn’t need any video. They just processed everything and before I knew it was competing at the collegiate level while pursuing my accounting degree,” Amoah revealed.

At Coppin State, while competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), he met top athletes like Christian Coleman and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, which inspired the Ghanian further.

“Compared to Ghana, the challenge was higher in the States and I believe it brought out the best in me.

“The athletes I compete with here are the same ones on the US Olympic team and for me, it helped me challenge myself to focus on track and my education.”

Getting the Right Mindset Before Every Race

In 2019, Amoah participated in the 2019 African Games in Morocco as the first Ghanaian to secure a quota for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

“I entered that competition with a lot of confidence because I had run a personal record of 10.01 seconds in the 100m at the NCAA. This put me up as one of the top five athletes going in the African Games in the 100m and 200m,” he said.

He was unable to advance past of the semi-finals in either event, with two fourth-place finishes.

“For the 200m, I had run three rounds in the 100m earlier and the fatigue caught up with me in that event. Also, I was inexperienced running multiple rounds.”

But it wasn’t all bad news for Amoah, who helped Ghana win gold in the 4x100m relay, alongside Sean-Safo Antwi, Benjamin Azamati, and Martin-Owusu Antwi, and secured the team a quota for Tokyo 2020.

In Japan, they made it to the 4x100m final, but were disqualified for a lane violation, while in the individual 200m, Amoah made it to the semi-finals but his time of 20.27s was not enough to progress further.

“Being at the Olympics was an amazing experience. Making it to the 4x100m final with my boys and making it to the final of my individual event was special for me,” he said.

With his growing success, expectations grew as well.

Being a world-class athlete comes with its own wave of repercussions and Joseph is not immune to these struggles.

Joseph recognises the mental challenges that stem from competition, and ensures that he is always in the best head space to race.

“In a race you can win or lose, and it depends on who wants it more.