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Joseph Fahnbulleh

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Joseph Fahnbulleh
Joseph Fahnbulleh at the 2024 African Championships (2024)
Personal information
Full nameJoseph Blowadeh Siafa Fahnbulleh[1]
Born (2001-09-11) 11 September 2001 (age 23)
Home townHopkins, Minnesota, United States
EducationHopkins High School
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Sport
CountryLiberia
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 meters, 200 meters
College teamFlorida Gators
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • 100 m: 9.98 +1.6 m/s (Gainesville 2023)
  • 200 m: 19.83 +0.6 m/s (Eugene 2022)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Liberia
African Games
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Accra 4x100 m relay
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Douala 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2024 Douala 200 m

Joseph Fahnbulleh (born 11 September 2001) is a Liberian-American sprinter. An Olympic finalist, Fahnbulleh is a double NCAA champion and finished fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the 200 meters race.

Early and personal life

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Born in Hopkins, Minnesota, to Liberian parents, Fahnbulleh attended Hopkins High School.[2] His mother was brought up in Liberia but had to flee to the United States to avoid the Liberian Civil War when she was twelve years-old.[3][4]

Career

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After being named National High School Coaches' Association boys athlete of the year in 2019, he was encouraged by Florida coach Mike Holloway to attend the University of Florida, and Fahnbulleh subsequently won the 200 m at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor National Championships with a personal best time of 19.91 seconds. He was also named National Senior Boys' Track and Field Athlete of the Year.[5]

After declaring for the Liberian national team and being named to their roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,[6] Fahnbulleh was given the honor of being the flag bearer for his nation in the opening ceremony.[7] His journey to Tokyo was the first time Fahnbulleh had ever been outside of the United States.[8]

Fahnbulleh made it through to the final of the 2020 Olympics 200 meters race with a time of 19.99 seconds in his semi-final, setting a new Liberian national record.[9] He finished in fifth place in the final, again setting a new national record with a time of 19.98 seconds.[10]

On 10 June 2022, Fahnbulleh won both the 100 m and 200 m events at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships with times of 10.00 (+0.6 m/s) and 19.83 (+0.6 m/s) respectively, helping the Florida Gators to the 2022 NCAA men's team title.[11][12][13]

Fahnbulleh placed fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the 200 meters, running 19.84 seconds in the final.[14]

Competing in the 200 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in 2023, he qualified from the semi finals for his third consecutive major 200 meters final.[15]

In March 2024, he was a bronze medalist in the 4x100m relay at the 2023 African Games.[16] He ran as part of the Liberian 4x100m relay team that qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.[17] In May 2024, he finished fourth in the 200 metres at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic.[18]

Sponsorship

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In August 2022, Fahnbulleh announced he had signed a professional contract with global brand Asics.[19]

Statistics

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Personal records

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Event Time / Mark Wind (m/s) Venue Date Notes
100 m 9.98 +1.6 Percy Beard Track, Gainesville, Florida, U.S. April 15, 2023 NR
200 m 19.83 +0.6 Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon, U.S. June 10, 2022 NR
60 m indoor 6.73 — Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. February 6, 2021
200 m indoor 20.32 — Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. February 27, 2022
300 m indoor 33.42 — Clemson, South Carolina, U.S. January 11, 2020

References

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  1. ^ 2023 African Games bio
  2. ^ "Gators In Olympic Games: Joseph Fahnbulleh". Florida Gators. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  3. ^ Wachira, Lynne (7 October 2022). "Joseph Fahnbulleh: I want sprint legacy to change image of Liberia". BBC.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  4. ^ "World Athletics Championships 2023: Fahnbulleh says African elite can challenge US sprinters". bbc.com. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Joseph Fahnbulleh - Track and Field". Florida Gators. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  6. ^ Friedman, Vanessa (2021-06-21). "Telfar Clemens Is Getting Into the Leggings Game". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  7. ^ "Athletics flag bearers help to light up Olympic Opening Ceremony in Tokyo | FEATURES | World Athletics". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  8. ^ Tribune, Jim Souhan Star. "Joe Fahnbulleh is a Minnesotan, a Gator, a flagbearer, and really, really fast". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  9. ^ "Athletics - Semi-Final 2 Results". olympics.com. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  10. ^ "Athletics - Final Results". olympics.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  11. ^ "Men 100 M". flashresults.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  12. ^ "Men 200 M". flashresults.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  13. ^ "Fahnbulleh wins 100 and 200 meters at NCAA championships". San Francisco Chronicle. 10 June 2022. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Hopkins runner Joseph Fahnbulleh finishes just off the podium in 200 meters at world championships". Star Tribune.
  15. ^ "Men's 200m Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". Watch Athletics. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  16. ^ "2023 African Games: Nigeria marginally beat Ghana to win gold in Men's 4x100m relay". Ghanaweb. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Men 4x100m Results - World Athletics Relays Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  18. ^ "2024 Prefontaine Classic: Sha'Carri Richardson Wins Big, Joe Kovacs Throws Far and Keely Hodgkinson Crushes Mary Moraa". Lets Run. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  19. ^ Admin. "Joseph Fahnbulleh signs with ASICS". Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  20. ^ "Joseph FAHNBULLEH". World Athletics. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
[edit]
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flag bearer for  Liberia
Tokyo 2020
with
Ebony Morrison 		Succeeded by
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