Adeoye Olubunmi Mafe (born 12 November 1966) is an English male retired sprinter who competed in the 200 metres and 400 metres. At the age of 17, he represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the

1984 Olympic Games The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

, reaching the 200 metres final. Also at 200 meters, he is a three-time World Indoor medallist and the 1989 European Indoor champion. After retiring from athletics, he went on to work as a fitness coach for several association football clubs.

Biography

Athletics career

Mafe was born in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

, London. The year after his Olympic appearance, he became the British 200 metres champion after winning the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the

1985 AAA Championships The 1985 AAA Championships sponsored by (Kodak) was the 1985 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 13 to 14 July 1985 at the Crystal Palace National Sport ...

. He won the gold medal at the 1989 European Indoor Championships in 20.92; silver at the

1985 IAAF World Indoor Games The World Indoor Games were arranged by the IAAF and held at the Palais Omnisports Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from January 18 to January 19, 1985. In 1987 the championship was renamed to the IAAF World Indoor Championships and gained official st ...

in 20.96 and a silver at the 1989 World Indoor Championships in 20.87. He represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and won a bronze medal in the 200 metres event, at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, in 20.26 (w). He reached the final of 200 metres at the

, where he finished eighth. Mafe is a member of the British team which set the world indoor record for the rarely contested

4 × 200 metres relay The 4 × 200 metres relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners who each complete 200 metres or half a lap on a standard 400 metre track. The event is a world record eligible event, but is not a standard event at most pr ...

on 3 March 1991 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Mafe and his teammates

Darren Braithwaite Darren Braithwaite (born 20 January 1969) is a retired British sprinter. Braithwaite was a member of the British team which set a world indoor record for the rarely contested 4×200 metres relay on 3 March 1991 in Glasgow. Braithwaite and hi ...

Linford Christie Linford Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former Sprint (running), sprinter and athletics coach. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes ...

and John Regis ran a time of 1:22.11, which has yet to be bettered. Mafe is also a member of the team which holds the British outdoor record for the 4 × 200 metres relay. Mafe and

Marcus Adam Marcus Adam (born 28 February 1968) is an English retired sportsperson, who represented Great Britain as both a sprinter and a bobsledder. Competing in athletics, he won the gold medal in the 200 metres at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, and als ...

, Linford Christie and John Regis set a time of 1:22.99 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

on 23 June 1989.

Football career

In 1996 Mafe was signed by

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a former Dutch Association football, footballer and subsequent manager. Regarded among the greatest footballers of all time, he was also noted for his Utility player#Association football, abili ...

and Chelsea Football Club to coach the players fitness and training, the Chelsea players fitness was improved under Mafe so much that they won the FA Cup and went on to achieve great things. In July 2008,

Roberto Di Matteo Roberto Di Matteo (; born 29 May 1970) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. A midfielder, he played for Swiss clubs Schaffhausen, Zürich and Aarau early in his career. After winning the Swiss league title with Aarau i ...

was appointed as the new manager of the Milton Keynes Dons and Mafe was appointed fitness coach at MK Dons to work alongside Di Matteo and his assistant Eddie Newton. Mafe followed Di Matteo to West Bromwich Albion in June 2009. On 6 February 2011, Mafe left West Bromwich Albion when

was relieved of his duties at the club. Mafe joined the coaching staff at

Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is a professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The team played at several grounds in their early history, includ ...

in October 2012, linking up with

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football executive, Manager (association football), manager, and former Association football, footballer who played predominantly as a Forward (association football), forward. He is currently v ...

whom he knew from his time at Chelsea. He left Watford in July 2013. On 8 January 2019 Ade appeared on The Chase.

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mafe, Ade 1966 births Living people 20th-century English sportsmen Athletes from the London Borough of Hounslow Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England English male sprinters British male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Chelsea F.C. non-playing staff Milton Keynes Dons F.C. non-playing staff West Bromwich Albion F.C. non-playing staff Watford F.C. non-playing staff World Athletics indoor record holders (relay) World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games People from Isleworth Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics