Jessika Gbai
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jessika Lauren Maca Gbai | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Ivory Coast | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 December 1998 DALOA, Côte d'Ivoire | ||||||||||||||
| Education | Howard University | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | Sprint | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | 100m: 11.22 (Clermont, 2023) 200m:22.36 (Paris, 2024) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jessika Lauren Maca Gbai (born 29 December 1998) is an Ivorian track and field athlete from the Ivory Coast who competes as a sprinter.[1] Gbai made her Olympic debut for women’s 200m on 4 August 2024 at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. And successfully made into the final, finished in 8th[2] for her Olympic-Final debut as a first-time Olympian.
Early life
[edit]Jessika Gbai born in Côte d'Ivoire, moved to Philadelphia (USA) as a child, she holds both citizenships. Was cleared by World Athletics to represent Côte d'Ivoire starting from 1 June 2022.[3]
She graduated from Howard University, where she competed for the Howard Bison track and field team and graduated in 2022 with degrees in biology and political science.[4][5]
Career
[edit]Jessika Gbai competed in the 200 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, running 22.82 seconds in the semi-final.[6]
She was part of the Ivory Coast 4x100m relay team that ran 42.23 seconds to set a new national record win the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne.[7][8] In August 2023, she set a new personal best time for the 200 meters of 22.43 seconds in Kinshasa jn winning gold for the Ivory Coast at the 2023 Francophone Games.[9][10]
Selected for the 200 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest kn August 2023, she qualified for the semi-finals.[11]
She ran as part of the Ivory Coast 4x100m relay team which qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.[12]
Jessika Gbai made her Olympics debut for women’s 200m on 4 August 2024 at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In 200m, she finished her semi finals with a new personal best 22.36s. She successfully made into the final for 200m as a first-time Olympian, finished in 8th with a time of 22.70s[2] She also competed in the 4x100m relay at the Games.[13]
She ran 23.14 seconds to finish sixth in the 200 metres at the 2025 Xiamen Diamond League event in China, in April 2025.[14] She also finishes sixth at the 2025 Shanghai Diamond League event in China on 3 May 2025, in a new seasons best time of 22.88 seconds.[15] In May 2025, she was named as a challenger for the long sprints category at the 2025 Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia.[16] She finished sixth over 200 metres at the Diamond League event at the 2025 Golden Gala in Rome on 6 June 2025.[17] She placed seventh over 200 metres at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on 28 August.[18]
In September 2025, she was a semi-finalist in the 200 metres at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[19] She also ran in the women's 4 x 100 metres relay at the championships.[20]
Statistics
[edit]Circuit performances
[edit]| Grand Slam Track results[21] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slam | Race group | Event | Pl. | Time | Prize money |
| 2025 Philadelphia Slam | Long sprints | 400 m | 7th | 52.54 | US$25,000 |
| 200 m | 3rd | 22.85 | |||
References
[edit]- ↑ "Jessika Gbai". World Athletics. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- 1 2 Paris 2024 (5 August 2024). "Olympic Schedule & Results-Athletics - Women's 200m". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Paris 2024 (30 July 2024). "Paris 2024 — GBAI Jessika". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ Gary, LaShandra N. (May 23, 2022). "Howard University Grad Stories: Jessica Gbai". thedig.Howard.edu. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ↑ Freeman, Sholnn Z. (August 1, 2024). "From Philly to Paris: Jessika Gbai's Olympic Sprint to Success". Retrieved August 2, 2024.
- ↑ "Gbai's Run Ends at the World Athletics Championships". meacsports.com. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ↑ "Preview: Men's and Women's Relays - World Athletics Championships 2023". Watch Athletics. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ↑ "WCH Budapest 23 preview: 4x100m". World Athletics. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ↑ "9th Francophonie Games: Ivorians Jessica Gbaï and Cheickna Traoré win the gold medal respectively in the Women's and Men's 200m". abidjan.net. August 5, 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ↑ "Jessica Lauren Gbai et Maboundou Koné seront aux Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024". lekpakpatosportif. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ↑ "Women's 200m Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". Watch Athletics. 23 August 2023.
- ↑ "Women 4x100m Results - World Athletics Relays Championships 2024". World Athletics. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ↑ "Women's 4 x 100 Metres Relay - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ↑ "Results - Xiamen Diamond League 2025". Watch Athletics. 26 April 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ↑ "Results - Shanghai/Suzhou Diamond League 2025". Watch Athletics. 3 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ↑ Chavez, Chris (May 23, 2025). "Grand Slam Track Announces Full Athletes Field For Philadelphia: Full Racers, Challengers Competing". Citiusmag.com. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ↑ "Results - Rome Diamond League Golden Gala 2025". Watch Athletics. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ↑ "Results - Weltklasse Zurich Diamond League 2025". Watch Athletics. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 18 Sep 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 18 Sep 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Grand Slam Track Results". Grand Slam Track. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
African Champions in women's 200 metres | |
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