MATADI Emmanuel

Liberia
Athletics
15 Apr 1991
30
Male
Olympic Scholarship
 
Liberia
SAINT PAUL, MN
 
United States of America

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
ATH Athletics Men's 100m  
Men's 200m  

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Olympic Stadium - Track
Men's 100m Round 1 - Heat 6
Finished
Olympic Stadium - Track
Men's 200m Round 1 - Heat 6
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
Olympic Games
YearLocation100m200m
2016Rio de Janeiro, BRARound 1 (10.31)Round 1 (20.49)

World Athletics Championships
YearLocation100m
2019Doha, QATSF (10.28)
2017London, GBRSF (10.20)

Diamond League overview - Three best ranks per season and event since 2017
Year100m200m
20211 x 3rd1 x 4th, 1 x 5th

Diamond League - Ten best performances since 2020
RankYearEventLocationResult
32021100mFlorence, ITA10.16
42021200mDoha, QAT20.45
52021200mGateshead, GBR21.13

World Athletics Continental Tour - Ten best performances since 2020
RankYearEventCompetitionLocationResult
32021100mWorld Athletics Continental TourEugene, OR, USA10.19
72021100mWorld Athletics Continental TourSzekesfehervar, HUN10.22

World Challenge - Ten best performances since 2020
RankYearEventCompetitionLocationResult
62017100mWorld ChallengeKawasaki, JPN10.67


Legend
SF - Semifinal, QF - Quarterfinal, 1R - 1st Round, Qual. - Qualification, QR - Qualification Round, DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, DQ - Disqualified, NM - No Mark, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not run in final
:
Athlete, Business Owner
:
Butler Community College, El Dorado, KS, USA
:
English
:
He was selected to play rugby with the US national developmental squad in 2015. (twincities.com, 12 Aug 2016)
:
He struggled with injury during his only season [2011/12] competing for the University of Louisville in Kentucky, United States of America. (twincities.com, 12 Aug 2016)
:
He took up athletics at age 16 at Cleveland Junior High School in Saint Paul, MN, United States of America. (northernsun.org, 14 Jul 2016)
:
He played American football before being encouraged to try sprinting. "I guess it was just something to do. I wasn't really interested in track. I ran my first 100m and I ran like 10.7s I think, and my coaches were like, 'Oh, that's really good for your first 100. That's outstanding'. I didn't even understand what that meant. But I kept winning and kept winning and kept winning, and I was like, 'I might as well keep running. I'm good at it'. Around the time I was just getting into track, I had a back injury, so instead of risking it, I just left [American] football alone and kept running." (twincities.com, 12 Aug 2016; goteamliberia.com, 11 Jul 2019)
:
To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (msumavericks.com, 12 Jul 2016; twincities.com, 30 Mar 2020)
:
Liberian footballer and politician George Weah. (goteamliberia.com, 11 Jul 2019)
:
His parents. (msumavericks.com, 12 Jul 2016)
:
"With other sports you might have a ball or a bat or whatever else, but on the track it's literally just you and your body against everybody else." (goteamliberia.com, 11 Jul 2019)
:
He was the flag bearer for Liberia at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (twincities.com, 30 Mar 2020)

General Interest

General
CHOOSING LIBERIA
Before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he decided to compete for Liberia over the United States of America. He was offered the chance to play rugby at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, which could have led to him being selected to play rugby sevens for the United States of America in Rio. However, he opted to focus on athletics as he had the chance to represent his country of birth in the sport at the Games. "I think that Liberia is trying to grow and for me to represent us on an international stage, it shows that we are getting better. It shows that we have the talent and ability to compete with other countries. I think I'm just a representation of that." (mprnews.org, 12 Aug 2016; goteamliberia.com, 11 Jul 2019)

FURTHER EDUCATION
After leaving high school he studied an associate's degree at Butler Community College in El Dorado, KS, United States of America, before studying exercise science at the University of Louisville for a year. He decided to leave Louisville following an athletics season disrupted by injury and returned to live with his family in Saint Paul, MN. He then enrolled at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he competed from the 2014/15 collegiate season. "I knew in order for me to go back to school, I would have to run again. So I guess I knew my career wasn't over. I think at Mankato I realised that I really had potential to do something." (gocards.com, 01 Jun 2012; msumavericks.com, 01 Jun 2015; twincities.com, 12 Aug 2016; LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2015; msumavericks.com, 12 Jul 2016)

HERITAGE
His family moved from Liberia to California, United States of America, in 1999 to escape the second Liberian civil war. A few years later, the family moved and settled in Minnesota, United States of America, when he was in the sixth grade of school. (msumavericks.com, 12 Jul 2016; mprnews.org, 12 Aug 2016)

CLOTHING BRAND
In 2019 he launched a clothing brand called Be Who You Wanna Be [BWYWB]. (BeWhoYouWannaBe LLC Instagram page, 01 Dec 2019; bwywbclothing.com, 01 Jan 2020)

Legend
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
:
Bronze Medal Event
Content 1 (removed through CDN)
Content 2 (removed through CDN).
Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos