Blessing Afrifah

Israeli sprinter (born 2003)

  • 60 m: 6.88 (Tel Aviv 2021)
  • 100 m: 10.20 =NR (Tel Aviv 2023)
  • 150 m: 15.57 (Tel Aviv 2023)
  • 200 m: 19.96 AU20R NR NU20R (Cali 2022)
  • 300 m: 33.26 (Tel Aviv 2022)
  • Indoors
  • 60 m: 6.92i (Belgrade 2022)
  • 200 m: 20.95i NR (Metz 2023)
Updated on 16 July 2023

Blessing Akwasi Afrifah (Hebrew: בלסינג אקווסי אפריפה, born 26 October 2003) is an Israeli track and field athlete who specializes in the sprints. He was the 200 metres champion at both the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships, and at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships. Afrifah will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the men's 200 metres at the Stade de France between 5 and 8 August 2024.

Early life

Afrifah was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, and later moved with his family to Ramat Gan, Israel.[3] His parents are of Akan ethnicity, from Kumasi, Ghana, and moved to Israel a decade before he was born.[2][1][4][5][6] His father and his mother initially came to Israel separately as tourists in the mid-1990s.[3] They remained -- with his father working in the consular division of Ghana’s embassy, and his mother working as a cleaning lady.[5][3] Grateful to Israel they pledged that they would have a son named Blessing and a daughter named Mercy.[3] His younger sister Mercy is also a sprinter.[3]

As a child and teenager, Afrifah studied at Ohel Shem high school in Ramat Gan, Israel. He briefly played soccer, then turned to athletics at the age of 11.[7] He speaks fluent Hebrew and English.[3] He is 5 ft 11 in (180 cm), and weighs 165 pounds (75 kg).[3]

Running career

Early years; Israeli championships

At the age of 14, Afrifah began working with national coach Igor Balon.[6] His club is Maccabi Tel Aviv.[7]

Afrifah won the Israeli Championship in the 100m in 2020-24, with his best time being a 10.23 in 2023, and won the Israeli Championship in the 200m in 2020-24, with his best time being a 20.63 in 2023 in Jerusalem.[3]

2022; World U20 Champion

At the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, at 18 years of age Afrifah won the 200 m in a photo finish with a championship record time of 19.954, 0.006 seconds ahead of Botswanan Letsile Tebogo.[8][9] Afrifah, who then draped the Israeli flag across his body, was the first Israeli to run the 200 metres race in under 20 seconds.[2][10] In recorded competitions, only two humans under age 20 had run a faster 200 meters, one being Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who later won the event three times in the Olympics and four times in the world championships.[2]

2023–present; European U23 Champion

Next year, at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland, Afrifah won the 200 m with a time of 20.67, just 0.01 second ahead of Dutch Raphael Bouju.[11]

His personal best at the 100m is 10.20 in 2023 and 2024, and at the 200 m is 19.95 in 2022.[3] His highest European ranking in the 200m was 4th.[12]

Afrifah said: "I feel I’m standing for a community. Israel is a country that [some] countries hate, so it’s an honor to represent them. I want to prove [anti-Israel slander] is not true and Israel is different, and I’m proving it through sports."[2]

2024 Paris Olympics

Afrifah will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the men's 200 metres at the Stade de France between 5 and 8 August 2024.[13][14]

Personal life

In 2010, Afrifah was granted permanent residence status, along with his sister and parents, following a government decision to not deport children of foreign workers born in Israel.[6] At the age of 16, he was granted Israeli citizenship after he appealed to Israel's Minister Aryeh Deri.[15][6]

When asked about his feelings upon receiving his Israeli identity document, Afrifah replied: "I’m an Israeli. I was born here, my friends are here and don’t know any other option. I’m no different from my friends, which are residents of Israel. I want to represent Israel and win medals." He was given full citizenship in 2020, and stated: "I can’t describe how excited I am; I couldn’t even eat due to my excitement. I have more confidence and motivation to win achievements for Israel."[16]

As an Israeli citizen conscripted by law upon reaching 18 years of age, Afrifah was drafted to the Israel Defense Forces in 2022 and served at an army base in Rehovot in a more convenient and shorter service that is limited to elite sportspeople and artists.[16][3]

Career statistics

Figures from World Athletics profile.[3]

Personal bests

Surface Distance Time (s) W (m/s) Date Location Notes
Outdoor 60 metres 6.88 +0.7 21 January 2021 Tel Aviv, Israel
100 metres 10.20 +1.7 21 May 2023 Tel Aviv, Israel =NR
150 metres 15.57 +0.6 27 April 2023 Tel Aviv, Israel
200 metres 19.96 −1.0 4 August 2022 Cali, Colombia AU20R NR NU20R
300 metres 33.26 5 February 2022 Tel Aviv, Israel
4 × 100 metres relay 39.66 — 21 June 2023 Chorzów, Poland
Indoor 60 metres 6.92 — 12 February 2022 Belgrade, Serbia
200 metres 20.95 — 11 February 2023 Metz, France NR

International championships

Representing  Israel
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Wind (m/s) Notes
2021 Balkan Championships Smederevo, Serbia 5th (F) 200 metres 21.28 +0.7
3rd 4 x 100 metres relay 40.12 — SB
European U20 Championships Tallinn, Estonia 4th (F) 200 metres 21.01 +0.7
7th (F) 4 x 100 metres relay 41.18 —
World U20 Championships Nairobi, Kenya 7th (F) 200 metres 21.03 +0.5
2022 Balkan U20 Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 7th (F) 60 metres 6.92i — PB
Balkan Championships Craiova, Romania 1st 200 metres 20.98 −1.9
5th (F) 4 x 100 metres relay 40.11 —
World U20 Championships Cali, Colombia 1st 200 metres 19.96 [.954] −1.0 AU20R CR NR NU20R PB
European Championships Munich, Germany 7th (F) 200 metres 20.69 −0.3
2023 European Team Championships Chorzów, Poland DQ 100 metres — — —
2nd 4 x 100 metres relay 39.66 — PB
European U23 Championships Espoo, Finland 1st 200 metres 20.67 −1.1
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 33rd (h) 200 m 20.73 −1.4
2024 European Championships Rome, Italy 7th 200 m 20.97 +0.8

200 m progression

Year Time Location Date Notes
2019 21.67 Tel Aviv, Israel 25 July
2020 21.17 Tel Aviv, Israel 28 July
2021 20.94 Tallinn, Estonia 16 July
2022 19.96 Cali, Colombia 4 August AU20R CR NR NU20R
2023 20.42 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland 2 July

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "בלסינג אקווסי אפריפה". Israeli Athletic Association. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hillel Kuttler (5 December 2022). "Blessing Afrifa; Israel’s Usain Bolt takes aim at the 2024 Olympics in Paris," Tablet.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Blessing Akwasi AFRIFAH | Profile". World Athletics.
  4. ^ "Blessing Akwasi AFRIFAH | Athlete profile". European Athletic Association. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b Rakovsky, Ido (28 July 2022). "הוא שובר שוב ושוב את שיאי ישראל, אך עדיין חולם על אזרחות למשפחתו" [He repeatedly breaks Israel's records, but still dreams of citizenship for his family]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Joshua Halickman (12 August 2022). "Afrifah a true blessing for Israeli sprinting; Israeli sprinter Bessing Afrifah captured the gold medal in the 200-meter dash at the Under-20 World Athletic Championships". The Jerusalem Post.
  7. ^ a b Horovitz, Michael (5 August 2022). "Israel's Blessing Afrifah wins gold in 200m dash at under-20 world championship". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Israel's Blessing Afrifah wins gold in the 200-meter dash at the U-20 world championships". Aurora. 5 August 2022.
  9. ^ Mulvenney, Nick (5 August 2022). "Israeli Afrifa stuns Tebogo to win 200m at world juniors". Reuters. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Israeli runner Blessing Afrifah wins gold at World U20 Championships; The 18-year-old is the first Israeli in history to finish the race in under 20 seconds". I24NEWS. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Alasaari adds to Finland's title haul with surprise pole vault victory in Espoo 2023". European Athletic Association. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Blessing Akwasi AFRIFAH," European Athletics.
  13. ^ "Israel's delegation to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games". Wingate Institute (in Hebrew). 25 June 2024. Archived from the original on 26 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Road to Paris 24". World Athletics.
  15. ^ Porat, Avinoam (12 February 2020). "Teenage runner faces hurdle to Israeli citizenship". Ynet. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  16. ^ a b Porat, Avinoam (30 August 2022). "Israeli gold medalist sprinter gets drafted to IDF". Ynet. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

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