Imago
Source: Instagram/Aiden Smith
Imago
Source: Instagram/Aiden Smith
The 24th edition of the African Athletics Championships is underway in Accra, marking the first time that the event has ever taken place in Ghana. But unfortunately, it hasn’t been a great debut. Reportedly, there were no timings available for athletes after they finished their races, while the starting gun malfunctioned four times during the heats of the men’s 100m. There were also complaints that media members were left without proper seating arrangements. This caused frustration as a Ghanaian journalist called the situation “an absolute farce.” But not just the media, turns out that the athletes suffered more.
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Not just on field, the conditions off the field were far from perfect. In fact, national champion shot putter, Aiden Smith let it all out during an interview in the mixed zone, revealing the bizarre treatment given to them at their hostel accommodation at the University of Ghana Stadium.
“When we got into the rooms, the beds were leather. We got sheets, we got a pillow, but no blankets,” Smith said in an interview on X. He added, “We don’t have an air conditioner remote. We had to go to the reception for an air conditioner remote. You’re not allowed to keep your aircon remote; you set it, and then you give it back.”
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From there, things only worsened.
“There was no toilet paper, so we had to keep asking for it, and there was no warm water either; the water stayed at one temperature. In some rooms, the taps didn’t even work properly. Some of our rooms, the guys in our rooms, water doesn’t work in their room,” Smith went on.
He likely imagined it couldn’t get any worse, but unfortunately, it did. As athletes competing at the highest levels, they require incredibly high levels of nutrients. That especially applies to Aiden Smith, who entered the tournament as one of the favorites, having won the shot put gold at the South African championships for two consecutive years.
Unfortunately, they never got proper food and even had to fight with those in charge.
“The food situation was also difficult,” Smith attested. “Whenever we went to eat, there were constant arguments with the staff about portions. We were only allowed one piece of chicken or one serving of fish, not both.
“I kept explaining that we are athletes and we need to eat properly to perform, but they would still refuse.”
Aiden Smith 🇿🇦 speaks out over poor athlete treatment at the ongoing African Championships in Ghana!
He was crowned African Shot Put Champion today.pic.twitter.com/2fGSsdA3TB
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) May 12, 2026
It took a war of words for them to change the situation, and even then, Aiden Smith got only “two pieces of chicken”. Things worsened even further from there as the breakfast situation became a major talking point amongst the athletes. For many, eggs are the quickest and easiest way to get their protein. Even then, they only got one. For some, that was reduced to half, which really upset the group, including Smith.
“Breakfast was no better. We were only given half an egg or one egg, and that was the limit. Back home, I can eat up to 20 eggs in the morning, and during the season, I normally have eight or nine. So being restricted to one egg was frustrating,” he said.
Apart from the chaotic hostel stay, another frightening moment unfolded when a pole vaulter’s pole snapped mid air during the competition. However, the complaints and comments were not limited to athletes; journalists also began reporting on the poor conditions.
Christopher Maduewesi, a sports journalist, criticized the media conditions on social media. He reported that this was his first time covering an African Athletics Championships where “journalists have been gleefully told to purchase their own data for internet.”
Yet despite the growing criticism surrounding the conditions, the action on the track still delivered. In fact, the opening day saw the first three gold medals of the tournament handed out.
Three golds given out on Day 1 of the 2026 African Athletics Championships
Despite the unfortunate conditions in Accra, Aiden Smith still managed to thrive. Not just thrive but dominated as he threw an impressive 20.01 metres in the shot-put final. It’s far from his best (20.89 metres in March 2026) and well off his 2026 best, but it was more than enough. That throw secured his twelfth gold medal of the season, with Egypt’s Mostafa Amr Ahmed finishing second.
A finalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Ahmed threw 18.89m to earn the silver while Cameroon’s Billy Jospen Takougoum took bronze. It does mark Smith’s first African Championships title and continues a sensational run of form for the 21-year-old. After all, he’s not made a podium just thrice this year, finishing first 12 times and third once in the other meets.
“I was hoping for a massive throw, but the conditions didn’t allow it,” Smith told Olympics.com. “I was aiming for 21m, but I’m still very happy with the win.”
He wasn’t the only one to win a gold medal, as Nora Atim Monie made history. The 29-year-old earned Cameroon’s first-ever discus title, winning the gold with a throw of 57.00m. It marks a remarkable effort from her, given her struggles in the previous edition of the tournament. Despite competing in the discus throw and shot put, Monie failed to make the podium.
This time around, Divine Oladipo (55.37m) and Obiageri Amaechi (53.23m) put up stern competition but fell short. Yet the hunt for a gold medal was far from over as Emeline Imanizabayo surged forward in dramatic circumstances to earn hers. The 30-year-old won the women’s 5,000m title, narrowly finishing ahead of Samia Hassan with a time of 23:25.92.
Hassan, on the other hand, clocked 23:26.34 while Ethiopia’s Zeyen Ayelegn pulled in for bronze with 23:30.55. It was a sensational close contest, with the trio competing for gold into the final stretch before Imanizabayo pulled ahead. This marks her first-ever African Championships gold and her second gold, having won the Dutch national championships earlier this year.
Yet while the performances gave the championships moments to celebrate, the growing criticism continues to cast a shadow over the event. With competitors and journalists now speaking out openly, questions about the organisation in Accra are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
Written by
Edited by
Shreya Singh