‘Loud noise inside stadium broke us’ – Joe Paul after Ghana’s 4x100m relay disaster

Sprinter Joe Paul Amoah believes the loud noise inside the stadium contributed to the poor performance of Ghana’s 4x100m relay team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

According to him, they struggled to pick up their communications, adding that they could not use the charged atmosphere to their advantage.

Amoah and his teammates failed to advance to the final of the 4x100 relays after being disqualified during Thursday’s race.

The team of Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, Ibrahim Fuseini, Benjamin Azamati and Amoah was in Heat 2, alongside Jamaica, Canada, Germany, China, Liberia, Brazil and France.

However, they were once again beset by a messy baton changeover, which saw them finish sixth in the race.

While their position already meant they were out of the Olympics, it soon emerged that they had been disqualified after a review showed an illegal baton change in the final leg.

The 4x100m relay team’s failure brought a close to Ghana’s Olympic campaign, which saw the country end the event without a single medal.

Joe Paul Amoah attributes team's failure to loud noise

Reacting to the relay team’s disappointing performance, Amoah, who run the anchor leg, suggested the loud noise in the stadium might have hampered their communication.

“The stadium was loud, obviously because of France. Instead of using it as an advantage, I think it broke us in a way. We struggled to hear the calls, but we did our best in the circumstances,” Amoah said, as quoted by Joy Sports.

Earlier in the Olympics, Ghanaian swimmer Harry Stacey was eliminated after finishing seventh in the Men's 100m Freestyle.

Joselle Alice Mensah also narrowly missed out on a semi-final berth despite impressing in the Women’s 50m Freestyle, where she placed fourth with a time of 26.81.

High jumper Rose Amoanimaa Yeboah was the next to exit after being unsuccessful in her 1.92m attempt.

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