By Maxwell Woyram Tsigbe
The Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams, has debunked speculations asserting the provision of substandard vaulting poles to athletes who participated in the just ended 24th African Athletics Championship hosted by Ghana at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the minister explained that the championship had 4 athletes participated in the pole vault event. One from Algeria, another one from Benin, and two from South Africa. He added, that all these four athletes came with their own vaulting poles.
“And the pole that snapped or broke, was brought by the athletes themselves. It wasn’t the pole provided by Ghana or the LOC; they came with their own vaulting poles,” the minister stated.
According to him, it is standard international practice for athletes to travel with their sporting equipment when participating in competitions outside of their countries of origin.
“Under international athletics standards, pole vault athletes, most times, travel with their poles and specialized competition equipment,” he said.
Mr. Kofi Adams further clarified that, Ghana’s responsibility as the host country was to provide the landing platform, the crossbar, and other related facilities.
He therefore urged the general public to disregard any claims that vaulting poles that broke during the competition were provided by Ghana or the event organisers (the Local Organising Committee – LOC).
These clarifications followed a frightening moment on Day 2 of the championship after a Pole Vaulter’s pole snaped mid-air, resulting in public criticism and vilification of the Local Organizing Committee and the Sports Ministry as a whole.