Alex Amankwah, former West Los Angeles College student-athlete, recently competed in the Olympic Games in Brazil.
Amankwah represented Ghana in the first round of the 800 meters, the first Ghanian ever to qualify for the Olympics in this race. Finishing seventh in his preliminary heat, he failed to advance.
Amankwah started well and was running fourth at a point. But he was unable to finish with a kick. His training the last few months had been hampered by a stress fracture suffered in the spring. The heat was won by Canada’s Brando McBride in 1:45.99.
Amankwah was the 2013 California community college state champion, a junior college All-American in 2012 and 2013, and was named West’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year as well.
He holds school records at West L.A. College in both the 800 meters and as a member of the 4×400 relay team. The Los Angeles High School graduate earned a scholarship to the University of Alabama after graduating from West. At Alabama, Amankwah earned first team NCAA All-America honors in the 800 meters, and broke an 11-year old school record in the 800-meter event along the way. Amankwah graduated this past spring with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
“I had chills watching Alex compete,” said West track coach Dan Fitzpatrick after watching Amankwah’s race. “This was an amazing accomplishment and experience for him. We are all so proud of him.
“Trust me, he is not just content with competing. Alex will come back from Rio more motivated than ever. He will be ready to make some noise in Tokyo. I can’t wait.”
The West track program has enjoyed much success in recent years. Led by Coach Fitzpatrick and assisted by Tim Bowman and former Olympic gold-medalist Valerie Hooks, highlights from the past season included the ladies winning their seventh Western States Conference championship and fourth place at SoCal.
Both the men’s and women’s teams advanced to the state championship for the 9th consecutive year and placed in the top 10 in the team standings. Twenty-nine Wildcats earned All-Conference honors. Nine were crowned All-Americans and one was voted Conference Athlete-of-the-Year.
Ms. Long-Coffee may be contacted at LongCofm@wlac.edu