Joseph Fahnbulleh, Liberia’s first-ever Olympic finalist, has advanced to his second consecutive men’s 200m Olympics semi finals in Paris, France. Fahnbulleh booked his ticket to the semis after placing first in his heat with a time of 20.20, 0.26 seconds better than his previous heat run at the Tokyo Olympics.
He will compete again on Wednesday, August 7, looking to advance to his second consecutive Olympics final. Fahnbulleh is one of seven Liberian athletes representing the country at the ongoing Olympics in Paris.
At the previous Olympics, Fahnbulleh had Liberians across the globe glued to their screens anticipating their first-ever gold medal, but the 22-year-old missed out as he finished fifth in the final, setting a new national record with a time of 19.98 seconds.
Fahnbulleh went into this year’s Olympics as a double African champion after winning double gold in the men’s 100m and 200m of the 23rd African Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon, becoming the first Liberian athlete to win double gold at the championship.
Earlier on August 4, Liberia men’s 100m national record (9.91) holder, Emmanuel Matadi, did not advance to the men’s 100m final after running 10.18 and placing eighth in heat two of the semifinals.
He had booked his place in the semi after finishing his heat as one of the next three fastest on the overall. This year’s edition marks Matadi’s third Olympics after representing Liberia at the 2026 and 2021 Olympics.
He will compete as one of Liberia’s runners in the men’s 4×100 relay on Thursday, August 8.
Ebony Morrison, Liberia’s first-ever silver and gold medalist at the African Championship is preparing to make her second appearance at the Olympics. She will hit the track running on Wednesday, August 7, in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Ebony had a decent debut at the 2021 Olympics when she ran a time of 12.74 in the semifinals, setting a national record, but missed the final.