19 February 2024
LAWRENCE (KSNT) – One KU freshman is quickly making a name for herself in Lawrence.
Pearl Awanya, a native of Ghana, Africa, broke the Ghana national record in the indoor 400m at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 10. Awanya clocked an impressive 52.56 in the 400m, while also helping KU women’s 4×400 relay team shatter last year’s season best by 10 seconds.
Awanya couldn’t stop smiling when talking about breaking her country’s record.
“I didn’t even know [about] the record,” Awanya said. “So like after the race, everyone was like, ‘Do you know what you just did?’ And I was like, ‘No.’ And so I received messages congratulating me about breaking the record and I was just excited.”
Awanya’s family hasn’t traveled to watch her compete yet, but she says they were just as excited as she was about the record when she called them on the phone.
The freshman’s first time visiting the U.S. was when she arrived in Lawrence in August. She’s never raced indoors until this season, but clearly, that’s not bothering her one bit.
When asked what people should know about her, she said to ‘watch out for more.’ Awanya has dreams of qualifying for nationals and possibly competing in the Olympics in the future.