Rose Yeboah
Ghanaian athlete Rose Yeboah’s dream of securing a medal in the 2025 World Athletics Champions high jump was crushed as she could only manage a fifteenth-place finish in the women’s final.
Yeboah made history by becoming the first Ghanaian female to make it to the final of a world high jump competition. Although she gave her all, it was enough to earn her a place on the podium.
She began the final round of the competition by clearing 1.88 metres on her first attempt, but despite her best efforts, she could not make the 1.93-metre mark, bringing her dream to an end.
The 23-year-old may not have earned a medal but her determination and grit were noticed by the world as she battled it out with many refined athletes on the global stage.
Making to the final itself is a huge achievement for her, given the fact that she could not even make it past the qualifying stage of the women’s high jump final at Paris 2024.
“I needed this,” she told journalists in the mixed zone at the World Athletics Championships at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo having finished ninth with a clearance of 1.92m to make Sunday’s final.
“I really wanted to make the finals because I’ve been going through a lot after the Olympics and what happened,” said Yeboah. “It almost affected my performance but with the help of my coaches and my trainers I was able to overcome it.”
Yeboah cleared 1.88m in the final on Sunday, finishing 15th and leaving Tokyo with her head held high.
Her achievement at the world championships is even more impressive as Yeboah has not competed since June when she secured second in the NCAA championship. That’s three months without being able to hone her craft under competition pressure.
“I’m proud of myself because it’s not easy to be training and then with no competition, so I’m glad I made it.”