Joseph Fahnbulleh is a Liberian-American sprinter who was born on September 11, 2001.
Fahnbulleh was born to Liberian parents in Hopkins, Minnesota, and attended Hopkins High School.
Coach Mike Holloway of Florida encouraged Fahnbulleh to enroll at the University of Florida after he was named the boys’ athlete of the year by the National High School Coaches Association in 2019.
Fahnbulleh then won the 200 m at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor National Championships in a time that was a personal best of 19.91 seconds.
The National Senior Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year award went to him as well.
Fahnbulleh received the distinction of carrying the Liberian flag at the opening ceremony after he made the decision to represent his country and was included in their Olympic team for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.
Fahnbulleh had never traveled outside of the United States prior to the trip to Tokyo for the Olympics.
He advanced to the 200 m final at the 2020 Olympics with a time of 19.99 seconds in his semifinal, breaking the previous national record for Liberia.
He placed fifth in the final, once more breaking the previous national record with a time of 19.98 seconds.
With marks of 10.00 (+0.6 m/s) and 19.83 (+0.6 m/s), respectively, Fahnbulleh won the 100-meter and 200-meter events at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, assisting the Florida Gators in winning the men’s team championship that year.