Blessing Afrifah
Blessing Akwasi Afrifah (, 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. Biography
Blessing Akwasi Afrifah was born on  in Tel Aviv, Israel, the city where he was raised, to parents of Akan ethnicity from Ghana. His father came to Israel as an employee of the Ghanaian consulate. 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. At the age of 14, he began working with national coach Igor Balon. Career
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. Afrifah is the first Israeli to run the 200 metres race in under 20 seconds. 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. Personal life
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. 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." 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. Career statistics
Figures from World Athletics profile. Personal bests

International championships

200 m progression

See also
Sports in Israel

References

External links

 
 
 

2003 births
Living people
Israeli male sprinters
World Athletics U20 Championships winners
21st-century Israeli people
Israeli people of Ghanaian descent
Sportspeople from Tel Aviv
European Games competitors for Israel
Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 European Games