Ghana’s US-based long jumper, Deborah Acquah, yesterday exhibited a magnificent performance as she soared to a big personal best (PB) and world lead (WL) of 6.89m to win the women’s long jump at the state of Texas in the USA.
She upstaged Tyra Gittens (6.58m) – who held the WL going into the competition and Ackelia Smith (6.46m) to make her mark.
By her feat, the 25-year-old athlete did not only break her own national record, but gained automatic qualification as well to the world athletics championships to be held in Eugene, Oregon, United States from July 15–24, 2022.
Ms Acquah also grabbed a ticket to the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The Ghanaian athlete set a new national record in the long jump last April with a mark of 6.81m to establish herself as the leading African jumper, but narrowly missed out on an automatic qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.
Her career has been on a rising curve since winning silver in the long jump at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco.
BY TIMES SPORTS REPORTER