The OCC (Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge) Marathon is a yearly event organized exclusively for wheelchair disabled athletes in South Africa and Gogetdem wheelchair athletes always gets the nod to participate in. The brain behind Gogetdem is Raphael Botsyo Nkegbe and he uses that to motivate his disabled brothers and sisters off the streets, to let them also know that disability is never a curse but an ability to make yourself useful in society.
This year the trio left the shores of Ghana to fly high the flag of Ghana in George, South Africa for the OCC Marathon 2024. They were Raphael Botsyo Nkegbe, the general captain of Gogetdem, Maclean Atsu Dzidzienyo and a young man who was discovered at the Yes I Can Games, Emmanuel Kwaku Gyasi.
They competed in T54 , 42 km, T53, 42 km and also T53, 21 km. Raphael Botsyo Nkegbe came first in the T54, 42km with a time of 1’55.56s. Maclean Atsu Dzidzienyo also came second in his category of T53, 42 km with a time of 2’05.43s. The new discovery in wheelchair racing, Emmanuel Kwaku Gyasi, also came first in his category of T53, 21 km with a time of 1’36.40s.
Ghana won 2 Gold Medals and a silver medal from the OCC Marathon 2024 in George, South Africa and speaking to Raphael Botsyo Nkegbe from South Africa, he stated how elated he was for Emmanuel Kwaku Gyasi, an athlete who hasn’t raced outside the shores of Ghana before but defied all odds to win a gold medal for Ghana in South Africa.
He also thanked God for these victories and a special thank you to all the agencies and individuals who helped financially to sponsor their trip to South Africa too, especially Equity Sports Lab, Ghana Para Athletics Association and Seymour Aabjch Foundation for Young Disable (CEO Mr Felix). They were also thankful to all Ghanaians for their prayers and well wishes for them whilst in South Africa. Not forgetting the Ghana Amputee team, who gave them the moral support too.
Story by Cecil Stanley Nii Teiko Tagoe