Cameroon sprinter Emmanuel Eseme shone in the men’s 100m race to become the first athlete from his country to win gold in the event at the African Games Accra 2023.
This two-time Commonwealth Games finalist showcased his abilities in the heats, finishing ahead of Nigeria’s Usheoritse Itsekiri, the bronze medallist from the previous edition of the Games in Rabat.
Emmanuel Eseme powered through the final, crossing the finish line in a season-best time of 10.14 seconds to secure the victory, while Itsekiri claimed the silver medal with a time of 10.23 seconds. Namibia’s Gilbert Hainuca took the bronze medal in 10.29 seconds.
Gambian sprinter Gina Bass-Bittaye dominated the women’s 100m race, taking gold with a time of 11.36 seconds. This was an improvement on her silver medal from the 2019 Games in Rabat.
Liberia’s Maia Alyse Mccoy claimed the silver medal in 11.49 seconds, while Nigeria’s Olayinka Olajide took home the bronze medal ahead of Madagascar’s Claudine Njarasoa, who finished fourth in 11.55 seconds.
In other events, Senegal’s Louis Francois Mendy won the men’s 110m hurdles. Having previously settled for bronze at the Rabat Games in 2019, he went on to defeat the defending champion, Algeria’s Amine Bouanani, in a time of 13.61 seconds.
Just after earning a gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma, the newly-minted World Indoor gold medallist from Glasgow 24, dominated the women’s 800m race.
Duguma took first place with a time of 1:57.73, bettering her 800m personal best of 1:58.35 that she achieved to secure her world indoor title in Glasgow.
She triumphed over 2019 world champion Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda, who finished in 1:58.59, and Kenya’s Vivian Kiprotich, who took the bronze medal with a time of 2:00.27.
Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa, a World U20 champion, led her country to a medal sweep in the women’s 5000m event.
Eisa, along with Birtukan Molla and Melknat Wudu, who won silver at the World U20 Championships, fought off women’s steeplechase world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya.
Despite Chepkoech’s efforts to keep up with her fellow East African rivals, the trio managed to pull away, achieving a 1-2-3 finish.
Eisa clocked 15:04.32 for the gold medal, Molla finished in second place with a lifetime best of 15:05.32, and Wudu came in third with a time of 15:07.04. Chepkoech ended up in fourth place with a time of 15:13.71.
RESULTS – 100m WOMEN
| Rank | Name | Time | Country |
| 1 | Gina Bass-Bittaye | 11.36 | Gambia |
| 2 | Maia Alyse McCoy | 11.49 | Liberia |
| 3 | Olayinka Olajide | 11.55 | Nigeria |
| 4 | Claudine Njarasoa | 11.55 | Madagascar |
| 5 | Justina Tiana Eyakpobeyan | 11.60 | Nigeria |
| 6 | Natacha Ngoye Akamabi | 11.68 | Congo |
| 7 | Mary Boakye | 11.71 | Ghana |
| 8 | Sebele Tsaone Bakani | 11.78 | Botswana |
