NAME: Sam Effah (Class of 2020-21)
UNIVERSITY: Calgary
CATEGORY: Student-athlete
SPORT: Track & field
YEARS ACTIVE: 2006-11
HIGHLIGHTS:
Four-time U SPORTS Male T&F Athlete of the Year
CW & U SPORTS record holder in the 60m
2007-08 Calgary Male Athlete of the Year
Two-time Canadian 100m champion (’10, ’11)
BIO:
It's been nearly a decade since Sam Effah last sprinted down a university track, but that hasn't changed his place as the fastest man in Canadian university track & field history.
A standout sprinter at the University of Calgary between 2006 and 2011, Effah remains the Canada West and U SPORTS record holder in the 60-metres.
The son of Ghanaian immigrants, Effah took home gold in record-setting fashion at the 2010 CIS Championships (6.57), before adding the CW Championship record at the 2011 conference event (6.59).
Those were just two of the many outstanding moments from Effah's university track career, which included him winning four CIS male track athlete of the year (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) awards.
In 2007-08, Effah won four national gold medals, including individual titles in the 60 and 300-metres. He helped the Dinos to a second-place finish at nationals, and went on to be named Calgary's Male Athlete of the Year.
Over his storied career at Calgary, Effah would finish with three CIS gold medals in his premier event, the 60-metres (2008, 2009, 2010).
Amidst his career with the Dinos, Effah continued to climb the Canadian 100-metre ranks, winning the Canadian Championships in both 2010 and 2011. In July of 2011, he posted what was then the fourth-fastest 100-metre time by a Canadian (10.06), when he won gold at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association U-23 Championships.
While at Calgary, Effah competed at three World University Games (2009, 2011, 2013), and has competed extensively on the international stage, including at both the Commonwealth Games (2010, 2014, 2018), and World Track and Field Championships (2009, 2011, 2013). At the 2009 World Track & Field Championships in Berlin, Effah competed against the world's best in the 200-metres, including Jamaica's Usain Bolt.
Effah continues to run competitively, and is currently training as he seeks a spot on Team Canada for the postponed Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021.
Written by Evan Daum.