Glasgow 2026: Saminu, Azamati Lead Ghana’s Charge as South Africa Targets 100m Final Berths
Ghana and South Africa will be aiming to strengthen Africa’s representation in the men’s 100m final when their sprinters take to the track for the semi-finals at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on Tuesday evening, although the official start lists suggest both nations face difficult routes to qualification.
Ghana’s hopes rest on Abdul-Rasheed Saminu and Benjamin Azamati, who have been drawn in separate semi-finals.
Saminu faces arguably the toughest assignment of the three races after being placed alongside Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi, Kenya’s defending champion and African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala, and South Africa’s Bradley Nkoana in the second semi-final.
Although Saminu owns an impressive personal best of 9.84 seconds, he has managed only a season’s best of 10.01 seconds in 2026.
That leaves him behind Ajayi, whose world-class 9.84 seconds makes him the fastest athlete in the race this season, while Omanyala and Nkoana have clocked 9.94 and 9.95 seconds respectively.
Saminu will therefore need to produce one of his best performances of the year to secure automatic qualification or advance as one of the fastest losers.
Azamati’s route is no easier. The Ghanaian, who boasts a personal best of 9.90 seconds and a season’s best of 10.00 seconds, lines up in the opening semi-final against Nigeria’s Favour Ashe, Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy and Jamaica’s Rohan Watson.
With only the first two finishers guaranteed places in the final, Azamati will likely have to produce a sub-10-second performance to progress.
South Africa’s challenge is led by Bradley Nkoana and Gift Leotlela. Nkoana, whose season’s best stands at 9.95 seconds, also finds himself in the stacked second semi-final alongside Ajayi, Omanyala and Saminu. While he enters in better form than the Ghanaian, he too faces a fierce battle for one of the automatic qualifying spots.
Leotlela appears to have the more favourable draw in the third semi-final. The South African owns a personal best of 9.87 seconds and has run 9.97 seconds this season, making him one of the quickest athletes in his race.
He will, however, have to overcome Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, Canada’s Jerome Blake and Nigeria’s Adekalu Fakorede, all of whom have broken the 10-second barrier during their careers.
The start lists suggest South Africa may hold a slight edge over Ghana in the race for final places based on current form, with both Nkoana and Leotlela entering the championships with faster season’s bests than Saminu and Azamati.
Nevertheless, the quality across all three semi-finals means qualification will likely come down to execution on the day, with every hundredth of a second expected to count.
