The Florida Gators alumnus has cemented his name by being a 2x NCAA champion and has made his country, Liberia, proud. He has been a star in the making since his days in the collegiate athletic level. But was it easy? Catering to the hard training, changing sleeping schedules, and staying away from home must have been hard. The two-time NCAA Outdoor National Champion in the 200m competed in the Tokyo Olympics and reached the finals. He also competed in the 200m at the 2024 Paris Olympics, reaching the final and also participating in the 4x100m relay. Joseph Fahnbulleh might have felt homesick, but at 19, he made it through to the final of the 2020 Olympics 200 meters race with a splendid clocked time of 19.99 seconds in his semi-final. He finished in fifth place in the final, again setting a new national record with a time of 19.98 seconds.
Justin started talking at Ready Set Go one day ago, about the time difference between Paris and America, as well as how it might have affected Joseph during the Paris Olympics. He said, “They taught me to sleep throughout the day as much as I could while I was overseas. And stay up at night overseas cause you are still at your same time zone, so now you’re not going to get wonky and be like oh I have to be. I have to live like a Parisian, you know what I am saying?”
Joseph spoke about his experience and said, “The OG that taught me that was Dundy. He taught me about the importance of scheduling your sleep on a long flight because you know when you land is it nighttime when you land. And if it is you want to be able to hold a flight because you want to stay on that same schedule all the time when you’re gonna be racing, you wanna be up and like active. You know, so OG has taught me that too. And it’s a whole different mindset, a different ball game.” He also spoke about his struggles with staying away for 2 months and said, “I’m two months in being over here in Italy. I am two months in, I wanna come home. Cause you know I came to the circuit after nationals. So I will still like running, you know. I came and I was just like “ alright? Let me just see how it is for the next year. So I am not, you know, I can dip my feet in the water. I was like I am I wanna come home while I was crying! I was like look, I wanna come home. I’ve been running over here for a long time. I just wanna come home.”
He also recalled crying to his mother, Charlotte Graham, that he wanted to come back home. The then 19-year-old got a stern voice from his mother. He said, “But that was the only moment though, ever like once she said, ‘No you’re okay. You’re staying over there. To go finish out the next two races. You’re okay.” I was like, alright then, yes ma’am.”
His mother has a huge influence on his athletic career. The formal Gator sprinter is very close to his mother and wants to make a legacy for her. Let’s see how Mama Bear helped the first Liberian to qualify for the 200M final in the Olympics.
Joseph Fahnbulleh has his mother standing like a pillar
Charlotte Graham did not have an easy life in the USA, nor did she have it back home. Her life in America started when she was 12, when she had to flee from her own home in Liberia, which plunged into a civil war in 1989 that lasted for more than a decade.
She lived with her grandmother in the USA, and there in Minnesota, Graham would raise her son, Joseph Fahnbulleh, as a single parent. “Growing up, it was just me and my mom,” Fahnbulleh said to World Athletics in September 2022. His mom was a hospice nurse and had two jobs other than that to ensure her son received a good upbringing. This strove him to be the best in school and athletics to help his mother and make her proud.
While speaking to Minnesota Sportsman reporter (MSR) in August 2021, Charlotte Graham said, “We’re proud of him (Joseph).”His mother is the reason he chose to represent Liberia. During a BBC interview in October 2022, Fahnbulleh said, “I just wanted to do this for my mum. I just want to give exposure to Liberia. I would like people to know Liberia as a strong, independent country.”
His mother not only gave him A good life, but also gifted him something very special before the World Athletics Championships finals in 2022. This gift always stays with him, and it’s a chain necklace with a cross. He is not just fighting for glory; he is fighting to honor his mother, his friends, and his country. What do you think about this mindset? Tell us in the comments below.
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