Oppong-Adjei represents Turks & Caicos
Track and field star represents home country in Commonwealth Games
For many athletes, representing their country on the international stage is the goal. The lights, the camera, the adventure.
Troy track and field thrower Tayjo Oppong-Adjei got to live that dream over the summer when he competed at the Commonwealth Games for Turks & Caicos. The recent foray into international competition isn’t Oppong-Adjei's first time representing his country.
“I’ve represented my country about five-and-a-half times,” Oppong-Adjei said, “I say half because that one time I don’t know why they took me there.
“There was a track meet that I took in [2022] as well. It was in Florida, and that’s where I count the half. I don’t know what I was doing there, but I guess I was already going to compete and they asked, ‘Do you want to do this?’ I said okay, I don’t even know if it was even a world athletic sanctioned meet.”
Despite the personal questions Oppong-Adjei had around the half of a meet, there weren’t any questions surrounding the other five meets he proudly represented Turks & Caicos at. The most recent being the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, this past summer.
“It was my first time in a while representing my country,” Oppong-Adjei said, “I like to focus on other things during other summers. It was definitely my best experience because it’s the highest level I’ve competed at for my country.”
Oppong-Adjei is now in his fifth year, a graduate student, while competing as a thrower for the Troy track and field team. His three events consist of shotput, discus throw and hammer throw.
The Commonwealth Games is a competition between countries currently or formerly part of the British Empire. For Oppong-Adjei, he was competing against athletes from countries such as Australia, St. Lucia and Jamaica.
“Some of my friends represented countries like St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada and Jamaica.” Oppong-Adjei said, “I got to see a lot of my friends and some throwers that I knew.
“It was really good, seeing Olympic record holders, world champions, it was all a really good mix of different stages.”
Jamaica was especially meaningful for Oppong-Adjei, as the Turks & Caicos native spent time at Kingston College in Kingston, Jamaica, before coming to Troy.
“It was really cool, and I thought it impacted me,” Oppong-Adjei said, “I got to see a lot of old friends because going to Kingston College, going to Jamaica overall, you get mixing with a bunch of different countries because Jamaica is a regional hub for track and field.”
Kingston College also played a pivotal role in Oppong-Adjei finding his way to Troy.
“I have a friend who went to the same high school,” Oppong-Adjei said, “He was a year ahead of me, so when he left, my coach back in Kingston College already had the connection set.
“At one point, for like one year, it was four of us from the same high school here at Troy. It was like a little pipeline here.”
When he isn’t competing for the track and field, Oppong-Adjei is pursuing his masters in analytics. He also spent time over the summer interning with the Montgomery Biscuits.
“I’ve been trying to gain more experience mostly,” Oppong-Adjei said, “I really want to get into sport analytics. Half because I love being in sports, half because I really want a big paycheck.
“I really want to get more experience in the sporting world, and I’m not really worried about my classes. I know I can pass them, so the only real goal is to get some more experience.”
For Oppong-Adjei, representing his country was an unforgettable experience over the summer. Now the fifth-year track athlete looks forward to his final outdoor season in the Troy uniforms.
Comments