Fit, but not sprinter fit
Always a sporty soul, Amo-Dadzie had a base level of fitness from the numerous sports in played.
“I used to play football, 11-a-side, five-a-side,” the Londoner told us. “I was going to the gym, even prior to starting track and field. I did a little bit of boxing. I had one spar, got hit in the face, didn’t like it, so that was the end of that.
“Then I also did a taster session with London Blitz, an American football team in London, and couldn’t catch, so being a wide receiver wasn’t going to work out either.”
So he felt like he was in pretty good shape when he finally decided to become a fully paid-up member of Woodford Green Athletics Club in East London.
Not so.
“My body was in a good place, but I would say nothing quite prepares you for the physical rigours of being a sprinter.”
Various injuries and niggles impacted his first few years, with Amo-Dadzie describing the period as “a shock to my body system”.
But it wasn’t just the physical aspects he was learning about.
“My first ever race was a 60m race, and I didn’t know much about athletics other than at the time, I knew the world record for 60m was 6.34 seconds by Christian Coleman. So I remember my first race I ran, it was 60m and I ran 7.03 seconds. So it’s very close to the seven-second barrier and… people were saying to me, if you run under seven, that’s like a big deal, not many people do that. In the second round, I ran 6.97, so that was a really cool moment.”
Seeing the results beginning to come, despite also working full-time and being present for his wife and new daughter, Amo-Dadzie went on to break the magical 10-second barrier for the men’s 100m aged 30. By 31 he made his World Championships debut, and the following year, just missed out on being selected for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Yet dropping the ball on any of those important aspects of his life was not an option.
“My life is a very fine balance,” he said. “I’m a father as well, so for me my role as a husband can’t suffer, my role as a father can’t suffer, my role as an accountant can’t suffer. My role as a governor (at a primary school) can’t suffer. Me being a sprinter, none of these things can suffer, which means… I need to be careful about things that might tip it the wrong way.”
Aware that his partner didn’t sign up for this new aspect of his life when they met, Amo-Dadzie is full of praise.
“My wife is very good at spotting when I’ve had a long day today,” he acknowledged. “I’ve come back from work, I’m putting baby to sleep and I’m going to go training. She’s like, you know what, take it easy today, babe, and just her saying that lets me know that she’s seen that maybe I look a bit stretched thin this week. So my support network is unbelievable.”