Leticia Agyepong sets African 100m record at Diamond League Lausanne
Sprinter Leticia Agyepong clocked 10.83 seconds to break the African women’s 100m record at the Lausanne Diamond League, becoming the fastest Ghanaian woman in recorded history.
Leticia Agyepong crossed the finish line at Lausanne’s Stade Olympique de la Pontaise on Friday night and looked at the clock in apparent disbelief. She had just run 10.83 seconds — a new African women’s 100m record and the eighth fastest time ever recorded by a woman born on the continent.nnThe twenty-one-year-old from Tema, competing in only her second Diamond League event, had entered the field ranked eighth in a lineup that included American world champion Sha’Carri Richardson and Jamaican Olympic medallist Shericka Jackson. She finished second only to Richardson, who clocked 10.76.nn”I knew I was in shape. I could feel it in warm-ups.
But 10.83 — I never dreamed that number for this year,” said Agyepong, who trains with coach Fred Osei at the Athletics Development Centre in Accra.nnThe previous African women’s 100m record of 10.90 was held by Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou since 2017.
Agyepong’s performance will now automatically move her to world number five in the current season rankings and strengthens her case for a landmark medal at next year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.nnGhana Athletics Association president Mark Gariba called the performance “the greatest moment for Ghanaian athletics since Azumah Nelson was a different kind of superstar.” Several corporate sponsors have already contacted the association about endorsement arrangements.nnAgyepong returns to Accra next week before heading to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where she will compete in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.
