Ghanaians are hard to please.

None, more so, than this cynical, social media-reliant generation.

And there were a lot of them before Ghana's women's relay team hit the tracks at the University of Ghana Stadium.

The cynical voices pointed to Gladys Boateng "Gaza", who was excelling at the Ashanti Region Super Zonals two months ago, as an amateur playing amongst professionals.

Some were also genuinely worried that exposing Gaza and Aisha Jafar (or "Odo Broni" as she is known) this early to elite competition could break them.

But by the end, both the cynics and the sincerely worried had been won over.

Competing in front of an energetic home crowd, the mix of young and old clocked a time of 44.85 seconds to clear a third-place podium finish.

Three of them are students - Gaza is a first-year student at St. Louis, “Odo Broni” is a student of T. I Amass, and Janet Dakoa Kwarteng is also a first-year student at the University of Cape Coast.

Janet Mensah, who is enlisted with the security services, is the only one who is not a student athlete.

She is the most experienced member of Ghana’s bronze-winning relay team from the last African Games.

Yet, she is at best a part-time athlete.

For any other country, this would be extraordinary.

Golden Legacy

But in truth, this - the approach, and possibly the result, is how it has always been.

In 1999, a certain 15-year-old student of Osei Kyeretwie Secondary School (OKESS), represented Ghana at the Africa Games in South Africa. She finished 8th in the 100m and 200m events.

A year later, she delivered silver at the African Athletics Championships in Algiers, Algeria.

Four years later, he would set a national record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.14 seconds at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

By the time she retired, she had won the gold medals at the African Championships and the African Games. Younger readers may not remember, but she also won 3 bronze medals at the now-defunct IAAF Continental Cup - a meeting of the best teams from each continent for a weekend’s competition.

That was Vida Anim.

And it all happened because of Ghana Athletics ' long-standing tradition of introducing athletes to elite competitions early.

There are many other examples, too.

So what Ghana Athletics did is a calculated risk that has served Ghana well.

But the real work is what happens next.

Progression plan

On 21st May, Odo Broni, who runs the anchor leg, would be among the thousands of students who will sit for the Mathematics paper in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examinations.

For the country’s sake, she has to make the right grades, just like Gaza, and possibly win scholarships to study abroad.

Perhaps the closest to attaining that is Janet Darkowaa, who is currently at the University of Cape Coast. The hope is that she follows the path travelled by Joseph Paul Amoah, Benjamin Azamati, etc, by winning a scholarship in the United States.

However, as Azamati and Amoah’s careers have taught us, even that will not be enough.

Ghana Athletics needs resources to hire elite trainers to turn rough diamonds like Gaza into the next Vida Anim.

There is already a cautionary tale.

Edwin Gadayi, a sprinter blessed with ridiculous running power, has struggled to run under 10 seconds.

Gadayi’s situation has been painful to watch because he has everything. His running power allows him to touch the track and rebound instantly, and requires less effort to reach top speed.

Yet, four years since his introduction, that is all Gadayi has.

Without an elite training environment to hone his craft, Gadayi still plays catch-up to Ibrahim Fuseini, Isaac Botsio, and now Mustapha Bokpin.

And there are more Gadayi’s today than there are Fuseini’s. They cannot all travel outside Ghana to access a world-class coach.

That is why Ghana’s Sports Ministry needs to properly resource Ghana Athletics to create a well-tooled and fuelled system in Ghana.

The Commonwealth Games is a good place to start.

After WASSCE, Odo Broni will join Gaza, Darkowaa, and Janet Mensah for Ghana’s pre-tournament camp for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The preparation for the tournament will tell whether or not Ghana’s Sports Ministry, is, beyond the rhetoric, serious about this team.