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 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 ...

in the 200 meters race.

Early and personal life

Born in Hopkins, Minnesota, to

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n parents, Fahnbulleh attended Hopkins High School. 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.

Career

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 The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, 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. After declaring for the Liberian national team and being named to their roster for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

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, Fahnbulleh was given the honor of being the flag bearer for his nation in the opening ceremony. His journey to Tokyo was the first time Fahnbulleh had ever been outside of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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. He finished in fifth place in the final, again setting a new national record with a time of 19.98 seconds. 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. Fahnbulleh placed fourth at the

in the 200 meters, running 19.84 seconds in the final. Competing in the 200 meters at the

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in 2023, he qualified from the semi finals for his third consecutive major 200 meters final. In March 2024, he was a bronze medalist in the 4x100m relay at the

2023 African Games The 13th African Games, also known as Accra 2023, were hosted by Ghana from 8–23 March 2024. Despite having Accra as the main host city, the games were held in two sub-host cities: Kumasi and Cape Coast. The games were initially planned to be ...

. He ran as part of the Liberian 4x100m relay team that qualified for the

2024 Paris 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 ...

at the 2024 World Relays Championships in

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. In May 2024, he finished fourth in the 200 metres at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic. He competed in the 200m at the

, where he reached the final, placing seventh overall. He also competed in the men's 4x100m relay at the Games. He finished third over 200 meters in May 2025 at the

2025 Doha Diamond League The 2025 Doha Diamond League was the 27th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Doha, Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the nor ...

. The following week he ran 20.12 seconds (0.4m/s) to finish second in the 200 meters at the 2025 Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat, also part of the

2025 Diamond League The 2025 Diamond League is the sixteenth season of the annual series of outdoor track and field meetings, organised by World Athletics. The competition is a revision to the top level athletics series since Diamond League foundation in 2010. Th ...

. He ran 20.40 seconds to win the 200 metres at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on 31 May 2025. He finished fourth on the 200 metres at the

2025 Bislett Games The 2025 Bislett Games was the 60th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Oslo, Norway. Held on 11 and 12 June at Bislett Stadium, it was the sixth leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest level international track and fi ...

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on 12 June 2025.

Sponsorship

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

Statistics

*Information from

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 ...

profile unless otherwise noted.

Grand Slam Track

Personal records

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fahnbulleh, Joseph 2001 births Living people Liberian male sprinters American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Florida Gators men's track and field athletes Olympic athletes for Liberia Track and field athletes from Minnesota People from Hopkins, Minnesota Sportspeople from Hennepin County, Minnesota American people of Liberian descent Hopkins High School alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 African Games African Games bronze medalists for Liberia NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century American sportsmen African Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2023 African Games