Gémima Joseph (born 17 October 2001) is a French sprinter. She won a silver medal in the women's 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2024 European Athletics Championships.[1]

Gémima Joseph
Gémima Joseph at the 2022 European Championships
Personal information
NationalityFrench
Born (2001-10-17) 17 October 2001 (age 23)
Kourou
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)60m, 100m, 200m
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  France
World Relays
Silver medal – second place 2024 Nassau 4×100 m relay
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2024 Rome 4×100 m relay
European U23 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Espoo 4×100 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Espoo 200 m
European U20 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Borås 200 m

Early life

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From French Guiana, Joseph was hugely influenced as a teenager when she started being coached by former international sprinter Katia Benth, and then when Benth had ill-health, Joseph was coached by Benth's former coach Gaetan Tariaffe. Joseph has made the decision to stay mostly based away from mainland France in favour of remaining in her homeland. She studies in Cayenne for a Diploma in Accounting and Management.[2]

Career

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She won the bronze medal in athletics 200m during the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2017, held in Győr, Hungary. She became the French junior champion in both 100m and 200m in 2019,[3] and won silver in the 200m at the European Junior Championship in 2019.[4]

On 16 June 2021 in Cergy-Pontoise, Joseph ran 22:77 for the 200m and became the first Frenchwoman to make the qualifying standard for the 200m at the delayed 2020 Olympic Games. In doing so, she also became the fastest Frenchwoman over the distance for seven years. Remarkably, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race had come for Joseph after an enforced 10 day quarantine following her arrival in France which had affected her ability to train. Earlier at the meeting she also broke her 100m personal best, by running 11:40.[5]

In April 2024 at the Guyana Games, she ran personal best times of 11.04 seconds for the 100 metres and 22.57 seconds for the 200 metres.[6] She ran as part of the French 4x100m relay team which finished as runner-up and qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.[7] She finished sixth in the 100 metres final at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome in a time of 11.06 seconds.[8]

She won a sprint double at the French Athletics Championships in June 2024 in Angers, including a personal best 11.01 seconds for the 100 metres.[9][10] She competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris over 200 metres, reaching the semi-finals.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Gémima JOSEPH | Profile". www.worldathletics.org.
  2. ^ "L'athlète guyanaise Gemima Joseph cultive l'appétit olympique avec son mentor Katia Benth". Outre-mer la 1ère.
  3. ^ "Questions à ... Gémima Joseph championne de France junior 2019 du 100 et 200m". Guyane la 1ère.
  4. ^ "Championnats d'Europe Juniors : Claire Palou et Gemina Joseph en argent". Le Sport au Féminin. 20 July 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Sur 200 m, Gémina Joseph réalise les minima olympiques pour les Jeux de Tokyo". L'Équipe.
  6. ^ Lewis, Ludmia (14 April 2024). "Guyana 2024 Games: the return of the meeting marked by the performances of Gemima Joseph". lalere.francetvinfo.fr. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Women 4x100m Results - World Athletics Relays Championships 2024". World Athletics. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Tual, Finot, Guillaume, Guillemot... What to remember from the third evening of the European Championships". lequipe.fr. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  9. ^ "National championships roundup - Fast times highlight the British and French Championships". European Athletics. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  10. ^ "National championships roundup - Big vaults for Caudery and Karalis". European-Athletics. 30 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Women's 200m Results - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.