Blessing_Afrifah
Blessing Afrifah
Israeli sprinter (born 2003)
Blessing Akwasi Afrifah (Hebrew: בלסינג אקווסי אפריפה, born 26 October 2003) is an Israeli track and field athlete who specializes in the sprints. He is the 200 metres gold medallist at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022 and the European Athletics U23 Championships in 2023.
 Afrifah in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | בלסינג אקווסי אפריפה | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Blessing Akwasi Afrifah | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (2003-10-26) 26 October 2003 (age 20) Tel Aviv, Israel | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Israel | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Sprints | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Maccabi Tel Aviv[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Igor Balon | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 16 July 2023. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Blessing Akwasi Afrifah was born on (2003-10-26)26 October 2003 in Tel Aviv, Israel, the city where he was raised, to parents of Akan ethnicity from Ghana.[1][2][3][4] His father came to Israel as an employee of the Ghanaian consulate.[3] As a child and teenager, he studied at Ohel Shem high school in Ramat Gan and briefly played soccer, then turned to athletics at the age of 11.[5] At the age of 14, he began working with national coach Igor Balon.[4]
At the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, Afrifah won the 200 m in a photo finish with a championship record time of 19.954, just 0.006 seconds ahead of Botswanan Letsile Tebogo.[6] Afrifah is the first Israeli to run the 200 metres race in under 20 seconds.[7]
Next year, at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland, he won the 200 m with a time of 20.67, just 0.01 second ahead of Dutch Raphael Bouju.[8]
In 2010, Afrifah was granted permanent residence status following a government decision not to deport children of foreign workers born in Israel. At the age of 16, he appealed to Israel's Minister Aryeh Deri for Israeli citizenship.[9] When asked about his oath and feelings when he received his Israeli identity document, he 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 then 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."[10]
As an Israeli citizen conscripted by law and reaching 18 years of age, Afrifah got drafted to the Israel Defense Forces in 2022 and did a more convenient and shorter service limited to high-ranked sportspeople and artists.[10]
Figures from World Athletics profile.[11]
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
| 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 |
200 m progression
- "בלסינג אקווסי אפריפה". Israeli Athletic Association. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- "Blessing Akwasi AFRIFAH | Athlete profile". European Athletic Association. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- 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.
- Halickman, Joshua (12 August 2022). "Afrifah a true blessing for Israeli sprinting". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- 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.
- Mulvenney, Nick (5 August 2022). "Israeli Afrifa stuns Tebogo to win 200m at world juniors". Reuters. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- "Israeli runner Blessing Afrifah wins gold at World U20 Championships". I24NEWS. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- "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.
- Porat, Avinoam (12 February 2020). "Teenage runner faces hurdle to Israeli citizenship". Ynet. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- Porat, Avinoam (30 August 2022). "Israeli gold medalist sprinter gets drafted to IDF". Ynet. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- "Blessing Akwasi AFRIFAH | Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- Blessing Afrifah at World Athletics
- Blessing Afrifah at European Athletics
- Blessing Afrifah at The-Sports.org
- Blessing Afrifah on Instagram
