"to be moved by the true inspiration of his athletic achievements, which faithfully reflects the native spirits of the Prempeh people, and which recently revived the alma mater's name in international athletics"     Henry Hagan

Hagan: I was born in Takoradi and we moved to Kumasi when I was really young. I attended Royal International School until I sat for the Common Entrance. I enrolled in Prempeh College in 83-88. I did my sixth form education at Tech Secondary School during which I was awarded an athletics scholarship to enroll at the University of Alabama. I'm now married to Cynthia Arnold from the US Virgin Islands. I currently work at Emory University Medical School as a research specialist in the Department of Biochemistry.

prempeh.org: How did you get the name Astropee and does it have any significant meaning?

Hagan: The name was given to me by one of my friends Napoleon Cofi, it doesn't have any meaning to it; we thought at that time it was cool.

prempeh.org: Senior, why did you choose to attend Prempeh?

Hagan: I attended Prempeh because I knew it was a good school at a very young age. I also noticed that almost all the Prempeh students I came in contact with were very respected, smart and well behaved and I wanted to be a part it.

prempeh.org: Who were your best friends on campus?

Hagan: Unfortunately I learnt just the other day that one of my best friend passed away. His name was "B Copper." May his soul rest in peace. The rest were Adu Tutu Amankwah, Yaw Agyemang, Asabere, Lamuel Abby and etc.

prempeh.org: Which teachers inspired you and in what way?

Hagan: It was Mr. Ben Kumah, my biology teacher who inspired me to take my studies and athletics seriously.

prempeh.org:You were one of Ghana's most dominant athletes at one time. Please tell us about your athletics career.

Hagan: I thank God for blessing me with the talent to run because without it I wouldn't be where I am now. I would say I had a decent track career. I competed in a lot of championship games which includes the All-African games and the Olympics Games in Barcelona (1992). There are also a lot of events here in the US that I participated in, such as the NCAAs which I became all-American.

prempeh.org: Do you hold any record or have you ever held any?

Hagan: Most of my records have been smashed by a guy known as Hassan. I really can't say which one still stands. I know in 1990 I held the 400m record in both the Ashanti Super Zonal and the Regional event.

prempeh.org:We just discovered from the Ghana National Records at the Athletics website operated by your running mate Andrew Owusu that you still hold the Ghana 4 X 400 meter relay record.

Hagan: Oh yeah, I'm part of the relay team that holds that record. It was a team effort which I share with 3 other guys. I'm surprised our 4 X 400 relay record still stands.

prempeh.org: So, when during Prempeh did you discover these talents?

Hagan: It was during one of our PE classes that the sports master noticed that I could really long-jump. So I started with long jump in Prempeh until one day during one of our practice sessions I challenged our top sprinter to race me. He did race me and I almost won the race. But after that race, he never beat me again. So that's how I started.

prempeh.org:Were there any Prempeh athletes in particular who inspired you?

Hagan: I will say the athletes that inspired me were the Gideon Adiyeah "Ashkus' and Augustine "Babylonia" Adega.

prempeh.org: Did fame change your life, and in what way?

Hagan: I don't think fame did change my life but it really opened a lot of doors for me. One thing I will say is that a lot of girls wanted to be my friend but I managed to stay away from them.

prempeh.org: What was your favorite Prempeh inter-house moment?

Hagan: That was in 1988 when I won the 200m, 400m and the long jump and I helped Pearson House win the competition.

prempeh.org: What is your secret for success on the track?

Hagan: Stay focused and practice hard.

prempeh.org: Your favorite event is?

Hagan: That will be the 4x400m relay.

prempeh.org: What are your favorite moments from the Kumasi Sports Stadium, with respect to the Inter-Collegiate Athletics? Is there a specific moment you cherish?

Hagan: I think that moment will be when I was in Tech Sec. I won all the events I was registered. I won the 100m, 200m, 400m, and both the relays. And I did this all in one day.

prempeh.org: Which House was the best in athletics overall during your Prempeh days?

Hagan: I think Osei Tutu {OT}; they had a lot of good athletes.

prempeh.org: How did you manage to combine your athletics career with academic activities?

Hagan: It was very hard to do both and to excel as well but I tried to do the best.

prempeh.org: Sir, give us insights into how an athlete can prepare for the highly rigorous Prempeh terminal exams, when he has spent most of the term training and competing in inter-school competitions. Was it not too demanding? Give us a brief survival guide for the future Prempeh athlete.

Hagan: The exam week in Prempeh as we all know is the most intense week on campus. I Think athletes in Ghana make a lot of sacrifices that people don't appreciate. during the interco season, we train every afternoon for about 2-3hrs without any supervision because the sports master was always gone. We come back from practice tired and hungry so what I used to do is get cleaned up, find something to eat which was sometimes hard, then take a short nap. After that, my friends and I will go for "mining".

prempeh.org: Despite all the sacrifices you made for Prempeh in athletics, especially during your O-Level year, the Headmaster failed to accept you for Prempeh 6th form. Did that make you bitter? Can you tell us about how you felt at that time?

Hagan: I was very upset since a lot of students he accepted didn't have better grades than I had. I had aggregate 2 but I did well on my science subjects. I missed having aggregate 1 by only one point.

I was hurt about this for a long time I know why he didn't accept me. Do you remember in 1988 there was a demonstration that was staged by students after the headmaster cut the term short because they said money had run out. Well I remember taking a nap when I heard the school bell rang for all students to meet at the Assembly Hall. I was so tired that I didn't make it since I had just come from training. All my dorm mates didn't go either since we were preparing for the mock exams. To make the story short, after the demo, the headmaster (R.T. Sackey) ordered the army from the barracks to arrest students who participated but unfortunately for me and my dorm mates we were picked up from our dorm almost naked to the Headmaster house. I was in my underwear when I told him I was not part of it but he never believed me.

prempeh.org: What, if any, were the Headmaster's words to you at that time?

Hagan: He didn't say anything.

prempeh.org: Was this the catalyst in your transformation into a national athletic star? Was this the turning point in your career?

Hagan: Well, I told my self I was done with athletics. Even my parents told me bluntly that if I don't quit track and focus on my studies, they won't offer me any assistance for my education. But when I went to Tech Sec, the sports master pleaded with me to start track again because he can see I have the potential to be a good athlete. I told him my situation concerning my parents and he insisted to meet them so he could convince my parents, which he did.

prempeh.org: You were not the first victim of the Headmaster; it did happen to the Lawson brothers. What did you think of the case of the famous Lawson brothers - Pasha and Mafia - both of Osei Tutu House, who were probably the fastest sprinters in Ghana at that time! They helped set the school's 4 X 100 meter relay record for Osei Tutu House and helped Prempeh win the Inter Colleges Athletics but Mr. Sackey did not accept them because of "low GCE passes." Though they could have went anywhere, they sat out a year and resat the O-Level just to come to Prempeh. They presented with Aggregate 28 the following year but Headmaster Sackey still refused them admission, citing their alleged history of vandalism (which was never proven). Did you take any cue from that?

Hagan: Because of the case of Pasha and Mafia, Nti-Berkoh, who was the Sports Prefect at that time kept advising us about the risk we were taking anytime we run for Prempeh. He reminded us that if we spend all our time training and competing for Prempeh and we do not do well on GCE O-Level, we may not get into Prempeh 6th Form, because of the Headmaster's policy.

prempeh.org: Whenever you donned Tech Sec jersey at the Stadium(when you were 6th Form there), you seemed so reinvigorated, as to suggest that you were punishing Prempeh for overlooking you. Was that an act of revenge for you?

Hagan: No, because on the track, I always want to do my best regardless of the situation. I love Prempeh and Prempeh College will always be part of me. I matured and learnt a lot of things from the school and I will not make one person's decision affect my affection for the school.

prempeh.org: You broke all the records in the state (Ashanti) the year you entered Technology Secondary School 6th Form. Is that right?

Hagan: I broke a lot of records held by the great "Billy Murphy" and Emmanuel "Koora" Tuffour.

prempeh.org: In retrospect, what do you think of the Headmaster's policy of turning away some great Prempeh sportsmen simply on the basis of "low GCE O-Level results." Having resided in the USA all this while, and having seen how athletics and sports bring universities prestige, do you think our Headmasters need to be enlightened?

Hagan: As I said earlier, athletes in Ghana sacrifice a lot but don't get anything back. Consider the fact that the school don't even provide us with basic needs to help the students train. When I was running for Prempeh I always had to ask my parents to buy me almost everything I needed to train in and after all was said and done, they (the school) will not say thank you.

prempeh.org: Not only did the Headmaster turn away legendary Prempeh athletes for the above-mentioned reason, he also refused to recruit sportsmen into the school. He fervently believed that "we could train our own students to run" against the great athletes from other schools. What did you think of this philosophy? Recruiting wouldn't seem to weaken or cheapen Prempeh's academic heritage, would it?

Hagan: I don't think you have to go and recruit athletes just so he can compete for the school. When I started in form one I wasn't admitted because they knew I was going to be a great athlete. Majority of the athletes I knew in Prempeh all started from form one and they became better as we grew with the Amanfoo spirit. A lot of people in Ghana have potential to do anything they want to be but many times our elders don't make it easy for a lot of talents to be fulfilled. I think its about time Ghana realized that its not only academic achievements that bring success to institutions. When athletic programs are run well like the way it is done in the US, it helps the school economically to sustain a lot of programs.

prempeh.org: And so it came to pass that owing to the Headmaster's policies, Prempeh sports sunk to an all-time low in 1990 when we placed a disgraceful 9th in the Inter-Schools Competition. Meanwhile your school, Tech Sec, won because you kept winning race after race for them. How did you feel about Prempeh's plight when you were beating Prempeh in everything?

Hagan: I had wished to complete my education at Prempeh but when that didn't happen, I realized I had to move on with my life. Those guys at Prempeh hated me so much that even when I went to Tech Sec the Prempeh sports masters were protesting that I shouldn't be allowed to run which to me was crazy because they accepted ABU Abrahim who was competing for Prempeh but my grades were far better than his. Through out my studies at Prempeh, I was always in the top 20 in my class. This Abu guy was repeated a couple of times but they accepted him to Sixth Form. The Headmaster had a personal vendetta against me.

prempeh.org: What were your friends from Prempeh saying? Did you get any word that the Headmaster had regrets?

Hagan: I really didn't care a bit.

prempeh.org: Please tell us about being a national athlete. How does it feel to run for your country?

Hagan: It was really great competing for Ghana both in the Olympics in 1992 at Barcelona and African championship in Mauritius. I am very proud that I made it that far.

prempeh.org: Which other Prempeh athletes were on the National team during your time?

Hagan: David Nti-Berko was also on the national team. He was a triplejumper.

prempeh.org: Which international "meets" did you compete in, and how did Ghana fare in these competitions?

Hagan: My first international competition was in Cairo. Then in Ivory Coast, South Afrca, Mauritius, and Barcelona. Ghana did well in Mauritius.

prempeh.org: Are there any milestones from your stint with the National team that you would like to share with us?

Hagan: There was one occasion in Kumasi when Ghana hosted the African zone 3 junior competition. During the last race which was the 4 by 4 relays, the Nigerians took the lead about 20 meters but I remember when I took the button for the final lap of the race, I then ran pass this guy and we won. This was the first time Ghana beat Nigeria in the mile relay.

prempeh.org: Wow, a memorable occasion.

Hagan: Yes

prempeh.org: Do you feel that Ghana's athletics is at its lowest ebb? And what measures can we take to improve it? What about improvement of Prempeh sports?

Hagan: Ghana has a lot of talents in almost every sport. The only thing left is to have a good sports minister who can give them exposure outside the country and I think the same applies to Prempeh.

prempeh.org: Senior, are there any impediments to progress in Ghana. Do you think the young athletes have more obstacles to overcome in Ghana than in "aburokyire?"

Hagan: Yes, in Ghana there is a lot of hindrance that could mess up your future regardless of what profession you pursue. Just imagine that after the headmaster decided not to admit me he still wanted to make sure no school accepted me, to the extent that he tried to scare the Technology Secondary School headmaster that if he admits me he will file a protest to prevent me from competing. How evil can that be?

prempeh.org: Have you been to Prempeh campus since you left, and what transpired?

Hagan: No, I have not visited since I left; I'm planning a trip to Ghana so I will try and visit because I will always love Prempeh.

prempeh.org: Is there anything you would have liked to do differently?

Hagan: Well, life is complicated, I really thank God for my life and I think every thing in life happen for a reason.

prempeh.org: Is there anything in life you would like to try but haven't done yet?

Hagan: I love to travel around the world and I hope I can do that one day.

prempeh.org: What about your future goals?

Hagan: To help raise my family and be helpful to the society in general.

prempeh.org: If you are offered the Headmastership at Prempeh someday, will you relish it? What policies would you institute at the school if you were to be appointed Headmaster?

Hagan: Well, I will make sure the school attains the prestige it once had both in academics and sports.

prempeh.org: Thank you so much for making Prempeh proud. We are very proud of you for having contributed to a renewal of Prempeh athletics on the international scene.

Hagan: Thanks a lot for giving me the chance to voice my opinion. Sorry for taking such a long time but I hope you will understand. Thanks again.

prempeh.org: Enjoy your visit to Ghana and to Prempeh campus. Only yourself and David Nti-Berkoh and the Sierra Leonean Pierre Lisk have kept the alma mater's name alive in international athletics in the past two decades and we are very proud of you. We are also very proud of your records at the Kumasi Sports Stadium and your much-deserved fame within the city of Kumasi.