Sport: 100m | 200m

Personal Best: 9:93 | 20.44

Current Team: Team Liberia

Birthday: April 15, 1991

On July 31, Emmanuel Matadi ran in the first round of the men’s 100m race. Unfortunately, Matadi did not advance to the semifinals. The top three runners from each heat along with the next three fastest times overall advanced. Matadi ran a 10.25 ranking him fifth in his heat and 35th overall.

His heat began with one false start committed by another runner. By the second start, Matadi exited the blocks in good form. However, there was a noticeable lag as he sprinted to the finish line. In a post–game interview, Matadi shared that he is actually managing a “small hip issue” which affected his performance. His season’s best is a 10.01. That time could have easily placed him in the top 24.

Regardless, Matadi ran well under the circumstances and held his own. Additionally, he shared that he will not be competing in the men’s 200m race that’s scheduled for Tuesday Aug 3.

“Me and Coach Cooper, we talked about it,” Matadi told Go Team Liberia. “We’re gonna scratch the 200 and just heal up, rest up, move forward and see what’s going on.”

The Olympics is a pinnacle event, but the track season extends beyond the current Games. We wish Matadi well and thank him for continuously putting Liberia on his back and representing the nation with such honor and poise. Matadi closed the interview with a short message.

“Thank you everybody for always supporting. Every year, we come out here and we try to put Liberia on the platform that it should be on and show everybody that we’re able to compete with the best of them.

”And I want to give a big shout out to Libtelco, you know the management team. I heard 4G is coming. We’re excited for it. It’s here. We’re ready.”

check out the post–race interview conducted by the Liberian Olympic attaché, Kouty Mawenh.

RACE SCHEDULE

100M

Sat July 31

7:45p – 8:09p JST* : Men’s 100m (Round One)

Sun Aug 1   

>7:23p – 7:31p JST*: Men’s 100m(Semifinals)
9:50p JST* : Men’s 100m (Finals)

200M

Tues Aug 3 

11:05a – 11:53a JST*: Men’s 200m(Round One)

8:50p – 9:06p JST*: Men’s 200m(Semifinals)

Weds Aug 4

9:55p JST*: Men’s 200m(Finals)

*Please note Japan is 9 hours ahead of Liberian time & 13 hours ahead of US Eastern Time

MEN’S 100M (HEAT:TBD)—Sat. July 31 @7:45p JST

ROUND 1

Athlete Sport Country Lane Results Rank
Akani SIMBINETrack & FieldRSA410.081
Arthur CISSETrack & FieldCIV310.152
Paulo Andre CAMILOTrack & FieldBRA610.173
Hassan TAFTIANTrack & FieldIRI110.194
Emmanuel MATADITrack & FieldLBR910.255
Cejhae GREENETrack & FieldANT510.256
Ngoni MAKUSHATrack & FieldZIM810.437
Bismark BOATENGTrack & FieldCAN710.478
Fabrice DABLATrack & FieldTOG2 
Total