Blessing Akwasi Afrifah: The long arduous road to represent Israel at the Olympic games

Blessing Akwasi Afrifah, an Israeli-born sprinter of Ghanaian descent, is making headlines at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, representing Israel with an impressive performance on the world’s biggest sporting stage.

Afrifah, who overcame significant citizenship challenges, finished fifth in heat six of the men's 200m event, earning a spot in the repechage round.

The repechage round offers runners a second chance to qualify for the semifinals if they didn't make it through the initial heats.

This opportunity spans individual races from the 200-meter dash up to the 1,500 meters, as well as the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles.

Afrifah's journey to the Olympics has been anything but ordinary. Born and raised in Tel Aviv to Ghanaian Akan immigrant parents, Afrifah faced numerous obstacles in securing Israeli citizenship.

His father worked at the Ghanaian embassy in Israel, while his mother was employed as a cleaner. Despite his upbringing in Israel, Afrifah was often regarded as a foreigner due to his parents' origins.

In a 2022 interview with Haaretz, Afrifah expressed his frustration with the challenges he faced: “People here in Israel made me ‘not an Israeli’ because my parents came from somewhere else.

The minute you have citizenship, then you are considered Israeli, but if you don’t have it, you are not part of the ‘Israeliness’.”

Afrifah's struggle for citizenship included surviving a deportation attempt in 2010 and appealing to the government.

His perseverance paid off when he finally secured Israeli citizenship in 2020 and subsequently served in the Israel Defense Forces in 2022.

Afrifah's talent on the track became evident on the international stage in August 2022, when he stunned favorite Letsile Tebogo to win the men's 200 meters at the World Under-20 Championships in Colombia.

Afrifah's victory, achieved in 19.96 seconds, came just days after Tebogo set a junior world record of 9.91 seconds in the 100m, drawing comparisons to Usain Bolt.

Since then, Afrifah has continued to excel, becoming the first Israeli to win a gold medal at the U-23 European Championship in 2023.

He also holds the Israeli national record for the 200m with a time of 20.95 seconds.

As Afrifah competes at the Paris 2024 Olympics, he not only represents Israel but also exemplifies the resilience and determination of overcoming personal and systemic challenges to achieve greatness on the global stage.