Stakeholders decry the organisation at the Africa Athletics Championships as Amusan wins gold for Nigeria

The 2026 Africa Athletics Championships, which has world record holder Tobi Amusan as one of the headliners, took off on the wrong foot with the opening day of competition overshadowed by controversy and criticism over the lack of certain amenities for athletes and journalists.

Ghanaian sports journalist Yaw Ofosu described the situation as “an absolute farce” in a post on X: “What is an athletic meet without the times the athletes finished? How are we as journalists supposed to tell the stories? How do we know how well they have done here in comparison to what they did in other meets? Athletes finish races and are asking for their times, and it’s crickets…,” he explained.

South African shot putter Aiden Smith has gone viral not for winning gold on the opening day of competition but for his strong criticism of the way athletes are treated at their hostel accommodation at the University of Ghana Stadium in Legon, Accra.

Despite winning the shot-put title with a throw of 20.01m, Smith couldn’t help complaining about the non-conducive, rigid living and food arrangements while speaking with journalists at the mixed zone.

Smith arrived in Ghana with a lot of expectations, but has been met with inadequacies – from sleeping without a blanket to “fighting” for food.

Meanwhile, World record holder, Amusan, has won Nigeria’s first gold medal at the ongoing African Athletics Championships after storming to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles final on Wednesday.

Her compatriot and US-based hurdler, Adaobi Tabugbo, also finished third in the event to win her first individual medal for Nigeria, while Ashley Miller prevented the Nigerians from securing a 1-2 finish.

The official time for the final had yet to be released as of press time, as the organisers had been battling a series of challenges, including a dysfunctional timing system, absence of live results, incomplete results without wind readings, and inconsistent disqualifications, drawing criticism from athletes and observers.

However, Amusan dominated the event in the heats and semi-finals with the fastest times before capping her performance with victory in the final.

The hurdlers’ feat takes Nigeria’s medal count to four ahead of the finals of the men’s and women’s 100m later on Wednesday evening.

On Tuesday, Nigeria opened its campaign at the 24th African Senior Athletics Championships with two medals on the opening day, as Divine Oladipo and Obiageri Amaechi won silver and bronze, respectively, in the women’s discus event.

Making her first international appearance for Nigeria following her switch from Great Britain, Oladipo marked the occasion with a silver-medal finish, while Amaechi completed Nigeria’s podium presence with bronze.