Meet Samuel Takyi And 4 Other Ghanaians To Ever Win Olympic Medals

Jeffrey Mensah

updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:43 PM

Ghana has secured its first Olympic medal since Barcelona 1992
Boxer Samuel Takyi has qualified for the semi-finals of the Featherweight division and will walk away with a bronze medal, at least
YEN.com.gh has put together a list of all the Olympic medalists Ghana has ever produced

Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Ghana has secured its first medal at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics thanks to the heroics of a young boxer, Samuel Takyi.

Samuel Takyi won his quarter-final bout over Colombian Ceiber David Segura Avila in the men's Featherweight division.

By his win, Takyi is guaranteed a bronze medal and has thus secured Ghana's first Olympic medal in 29 years. The Under-23 men's football team, Black Meteors, won bronze at Barcelona 1992.

Samuel Takyi and Meteors 92 squad — Photo source: @olympics, @kwesefreesports
Source: Twitter

Takyi's medal happens to be the fifth time Ghana has ever won a medal at the Olympics.

YEN.com.gh brings the full list of Ghanaians who have won Olympic medals since the country's first participation in 1952.

1. Samuel Takyi (Boxing):

The 20-year-old has become a national hero by his exploits at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

He even has the chance to go for gold or silver if he wins the Featherweight semi-final bout against American Ragan Duke on Wednesday.

2. Black Meteors (Football):

The Black Meteors, Ghana's under-23 men's football team, won bronze the Barcelona 1992 Olympics.

The team defeated Australia in the third-place match after losing their semi-final game to Spain.

The Meteors' medal was the first-ever for any African football team at the Olympics. Nigerian and Cameroon went on to win the ultimate for Africa at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 respectively.

3. Prince Amartey (Boxing):

Prince Amartey won bronze in the Middleweight division at the Munich 1972 Olympics.

Amartey had previously participated in the Light Middleweight division at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.

Unfortunately, life did not go well for Amartey who virtually became destitute. As recent as 2015, h was reported to be a squatter who survived on menial jobs.

4. Eddie Blay (Boxing):

Eddie Blay participated in the Rome 1960 Olympics in the Lightweight division and got eliminated in the round of 16.

He came back and won bronze in the Light Welterweight division at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics. He was also a two-time Commonwealth Games champion, in 1962 and 1966.

Born in 1937, Blay passed away in 2006.

5. Clement 'Ike' Quartey

Clement Quartey was the first Ghanaian and Black African to win an Olympic medal. He won silver at the Rome 1960 Olympics in the Light Welterweight division.

He also won a gold medal at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

Quartey happens to be the elder brother of former WBA Welterweight champion Ike Quartey.

Boxing has all the potential

Looking at the list of winners, it dawns on one that Ghana's medals at the Olympics have all, but one, been won by boxers.

Sharing his thoughts on this, popular sports analyst Sheikh Tophic Sienu has urged authorities to focus on the sports to bring up more talents like Samuel Takyi.

For him, even though football is the passion of the nation, a little attention to boxing and other individual sports will do Ghana a lot of good.

"It is true that Ghanaians love football but we also like boxing and other sports. If we focus on such other sports and put in even a fraction of the expenditure on them, we will do wonders.