Alberta Boatema Ampomah, Ghana's first female Olympic weightlifter, has died at 32, the Ghana Olympic Committee and Ghana Olympians Association announced.

Published 8 Nov 2026, 19:47 GMT

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Alberta Ampomah lifts at the London 2012 Olympic Games — Alberta Ampomah competing for Ghana at the London 2012 Olympics

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Alberta Boatema Ampomah, who became Ghana's first female Olympic weightlifter when she lifted at London 2012, has died. She was 32.

The Ghana Olympians Association, the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and the GOC Athletes' Commission announced her death in a joint statement on Sunday, November 8, five days after her 32nd birthday.

"With deep sorrow, the Ghana Olympians Association, Ghana Olympic Committee and GOC Athletes Commission mourn Alberta Ampomah, OLY (1994-2026), Ghana's first Olympic weightlifter and a devoted servant of her fellow Olympians and athletes. May her soul rest in peace," the statement read.

Neither her family nor the Olympic bodies disclosed a cause of death. Born in Accra on November 3, 1994, Ampomah was 17 when she represented Ghana at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Competing in the women's +75kg super-heavyweight division, she recorded 73kg in the snatch and 101kg in the clean and jerk for a combined lift of 174kg. She finished 13th of 14 lifters.

She earned her wild-card berth for London after winning bronze in the clean and jerk at the 2012 African Olympic qualifiers. Two years earlier, at age 15, she had competed for Ghana's weightlifting programme in the women's 75kg class at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

After weightlifting, she stayed in sport, competing in and officiating at armwrestling events in Ghana.

Ampomah was an executive member of the reconstituted GOC Athletes' Commission alongside fellow Olympians including chairman John Ampomah, Abeku Jackson, Gemma Acheampong, Emmanuel Dasor, Abdul Wahid Omar and Kaya Forson, advocating for athlete representation and post-career welfare across national federations.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Alberta Ampomah, Ghana&#39;s first female Olympic weightlifter, dies at 32

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Alberta Ampomah, Ghana's first female Olympic weightlifter, dies at 32

Tompolo’s PBAT Door-to-Door Movement targets wider grassroots in more states