The 13th African Games have officially ended with the closing ceremony taking place at the University of Ghana Stadium.
The competition’s opening ceremony took place at the same venue on March 8 to usher in the Games on the shores of Ghana for the first time.
Hosting the competition served as a huge boost for Ghana as the West African nation wound up winning the most medals since the Games inception in 1965 with Ghana playing a key role in its formation via former President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Ghana ended the 13th African Games sixth on the medal table with 68 medals in total, with 19 gold, 29 silver and 20 bronze medals respectively.
The penultimate day of the 2023 African Games increased Ghana’s gold medal haul as the host nation bagged first place in 200 Metres Men’s Final, Women’s Hockey, Men’s High Jump, Men’s Football and four gold medals in Boxing.
This level of performance drew praise from President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo when delivering his speech at the closing ceremony.
“To each and every member of the Ghanaian team, I commend you for your dedication, perseverance and unwavering commitment to excellence. Your excellent achievements have not only brought glory to our nation, but have also inspired a new generation of sports persons.”
The host nation missed out on a top five place finish with Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria and Tunisia occupying the top five spots in according fashion.
Egypt blew past the field by scoring 101 gold medal wins with Nigeria coming in second with 47 gold medals. Egypt will host the next edition of the African Games in 2027.
