Former Team Ghana athletics coach Elorm Amenakpor says the country’s men’s 4x100m team must “do whatever it takes” to secure qualification for next year’s World Athletics Championships in Beijing.

Ghana finished fourth in Heat 3 at the World Relays in Botswana, narrowly missing out on automatic qualification. The quartet of Abdul Rasheed Saminu, Benjamin Azamati, Joseph Paul Amoah and Edwin Gadayi clocked 38.18 seconds, placing behind South Africa, Great Britain and China.

Amenakpor, who previously worked with the national team at major international competitions including the 2022 World Athletics Championships, admitted his disappointment at the missed opportunity.

“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t secure automatic qualification, but we have another chance tomorrow,” he said.

“Azamati delivered a solid run, and Joe Paul did well to bring us back into contention, although the anchor leg was a bit shaky.”

He stressed the urgency of making the most of their second opportunity, warning that failure to qualify would make the path significantly more difficult.

“What we need now is to re-strategise and come back stronger to secure qualification. If we miss out again, it becomes very difficult, as the 4x100m is one of the toughest events to qualify for in world athletics,” he said.

“Only 16 countries qualify, so we must get it right and book our place to be on the safer side. We all know the 4x100m relay is the event that has brought us closest to the podium, so we have to do whatever it takes.”

Ghana will have another opportunity on Sunday to secure what would be a fourth consecutive appearance at the World Athletics Championships.