Alice ‘Baby Jet’: Ghana’s sprinter and long jumper who ruled Africa in the 70s with her top speed
- Alice Annum was Ghana's sprinter and long jumper in the 60s and 70s
- She earned the moniker ‘Baby Jet’ and ‘Flying Queen' for her remarkable speed
- Alice 'Baby Jet' was born on October 2, 1948 in Accra
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Ghana’s former Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has become famously known as ‘Baby Jet’, but before him, there was Alice Annum who became notable as a sprinter and long jumper in the 60s and 70s.
As a fearsome athlete who dominated her competitors with her remarkable speed, she earned the moniker ‘Baby Jet’.
Born on October 2, 1948, in Accra, the retired Ghanaian sprinter, recorded a personal best time of 22.89 seconds in 200 metres race at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich and 22.9 seconds in 200 metres (Christchurch, 1974).
Ghana’s first sensational female Olympian sprinter has clinched medals as evidence of her admirable accomplishments.
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Crabbita Media Consult reports that Alice won gold at the 1965 All Africa Games (long jump) in Brazzaville; silver at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Scotland; silver again in both 100 meters and 200-meter races and bronze in the 1974 New Zealand edition, 200-meter section.
She also made herself proud at three consecutive Olympic Games: 1964 (Tokyo), 1968 (Mexico City) and 1972 (Munich).
Alice Annum was one of many athletes through the defunct National Sports Festivals organised annually in Ghana.
She benefited from the sponsorship of Ghanaian athletes by the United States.
She competed in the 1964 Olympic Games but did not advance past the preliminary stages in the long jump, placing 28th with a best jump of 5.45 meters.
For her many remarkable feats in sports, Alice was honoured in 2010 by the Action Progressive Institute in Ghana.
In other stories, YEN.com.gh previously reported that Princess Ewurabena Pokou was Queen and founder of the Baoule tribe in West Africa, now Ivory Coast.
Queen Pokou ruled over a branch of the powerful Ashanti Empire as it expanded westward.
A subgroup of the Akan people, the Baoule people are today one of the largest ethnic groups in modern Ivory Coast.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
