Benjamin Azamati

About Benjamin Azamati

The Texas wind was cold on March 26, 2021, when Benjamin Azamati crossed the finish line in 9.97 seconds. That time meant everything. A national record that had stood for 22 years—held by Leo Myles Mills since 1999—had just fallen.

Benjamin Azamati-Kwaku was born on January 14, 1998, in Ghana. He grew up chasing speed, chasing the dream that every young sprinter holds. But dreams don't break records. Work does.

The 9.97 seconds in Texas became his ticket to Tokyo. The Summer Olympics that year would showcase Ghana's fastest man on the world's biggest stage. It was validation of years spent in training, in the blocks, in the pursuit of tenths of a second.

Word spread quickly back home. Mustafa Ussif, Ghana's Sports Minister, congratulated Azamati on the national feat. Dr Bella Bello Bitugu, Director of the University of Ghana Sports Directorate, joined in celebrating what the sprinter had achieved.

Azamati competes for ASICS Global, one of the world's leading athletic brands. The sponsorship reflects his status as a serious contender in international sprinting. His name now appears alongside Ghana's greatest track athletes.

That 22-year-old record belonged to history now. Azamati had rewritten it. On a track in Texas, a Ghanaian sprinter reminded the world that speed has no borders. It only has a clock.