Jessika Lauren Maca Gbai (born 29 December 1998) is an Ivorian track and field athlete from the Ivory Coast who competes as a sprinter. Gbai made her Olympic debut for women’s 200m on 4th August, 2024 at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

in Paris. And successfully made into the final, finished in 8th for her Olympic-Final debut as a first-time Olympian.

Early life

Jessika Gbai born in

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

(USA) as a child, she holds both citizenships. Was cleared by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

to represent Côte d'Ivoire starting from 1 June 2022. She graduated from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in 2022 with degrees in biology and political science.

Career

Jessika Gbai competed in the 200 metres at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, running 22.82 seconds in the semi-final. She was part of the Ivory Coast 4x100m relay team that ran 42.23 seconds to set a new national record win the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

meeting in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. In August 2023, she set a new personal best time for the 200 meters of 22.43 seconds in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

jn winning gold for the Ivory Coast at the 2023 Francophone Games. Selected for the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

at the

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kn August 2023, she qualified for the semi-finals. She ran as part of the Ivory Coast 4x100m relay team which qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 2024 World Relays Championships in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

. Jessika Gbai made her Olympics debut for women’s 200m on 4th August, 2024 at the

in Paris. In 200m, she finished her semi finals with a new personal best 22.36s. She successfully made into the final for 200m as a first-time Olympian, finished in 8th with a time of 22.70s She also competed in the 4x100m relay at the Games. She ran 23.14 seconds to finish sixth in the 200 metres at the

2025 Xiamen Diamond League The 2025 Xiamen Diamond League was an outdoor track and field meeting in Xiamen, China. Held on 26 April at Xiamen Egret Stadium, it was the opening leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest level international track and field circuit. Di ...

event in China, in April 2025. She also finishes sixth at the

2025 Shanghai Diamond League The 2025 Shanghai Diamond League was an outdoor track and field meeting in Shaoxing Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qianta ...

event in China on 3 May 2025, in a new seasons best time of 22.88 seconds. In May 2025, she was named as a challenger for the long sprints category at the

2025 Grand Slam Track The 2025 Grand Slam Track season was the inaugural season of Grand Slam Track, an outdoor professional track and field league established in 2024 by Michael Johnson. The season lasted from April to June. Schedule The 2025 Grand Slam Track se ...

event in Philadelphia. She finished sixth over 200 metres at the Diamond League event at the

2025 Golden Gala The 2025 Golden Gala was the 44th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Italy. Held on 6 June at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, it was the fifth leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest level international track and field c ...

in Rome on 6 June 2025.

Circuit performances

References

1998 births Living people Ivorian female sprinters 21st-century Ivorian sportswomen World Athletics Championships athletes for Ivory Coast Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ivory Coast {{IvoryCoast-athletics-bio-stub