Relay runner Elvis Afrifa (26) heading for Paris at the last minute: “Incredibly happy and relieved”
Last year, relay runner Elvis Afrifa (26) struggled with a serious injury, but this season he is in “the flow.” He became Dutch champion in the 100 meter race, won a silver medal at the European Championships in Rome, and qualified for Paris in the nick of time. “It’s also a little unreal for me that things are going so well, but I just go along with it.”
When Elvis Afrifa (26), relay runner and UvA student, heard the news in the middle of the night that he had qualified for the Games, he did a few sprints through the house from excitement. “I sort of half shouted and woke up my roommates, unfortunately. We hung in there as a team for so long, so when you hear that you get to go, you go absolutely crazy.”
Relieved
The previous weeks had been hectic for the Dutch 4x100-meter relay team. Only the best 16 countries in the world qualify for the Olympics. And because the Dutch team had previously failed to qualify among the best 14 countries in the world due to an exchange error, they were only in the running for spots 15 and 16. Those spots were to be awarded to whichever two teams had the fastest time of the season on July 1st.
Born: 30 November 1997, Amsterdam
UvA study: Information Science
Sport: Athletics, 4x100m relay
Goal in Paris: To reach the finals
Best performance: Dutch champion in 2024 in the 100m and silver at the European Championships in 2024 with the relay team in the 4x100m.
When Botswana knocked the Netherlands and Trinidad and Tobago out of the shared 16th spot with a time of 38.19 at the end of June, it seemed to spell the end of the Netherlands’ chances for the Games. Afrifa says: “We had tried to improve our time in Switzerland, but we were unsuccessful because of the rain. When we heard about Botswana’s time, we agonized for a day and thought it was all over.”
Soon word spread that wooden clappers had been used during the African championships in Botswana instead of an electronic starting system. “That can make a difference of half a second. That’s when I secretly got my hopes back up.” Shortly thereafter, Botswana was indeed disqualified.
But the Netherlands was still not assured of a starting spot at the Games. On July 1st, Trinidad and Tobago ran the final race and could still push the Netherlands off the qualification list. When Trinidad and Tobago began the race, it was 3:00 a.m. in the Netherlands and Afrifa was wide awake in bed, watching. “I couldn’t sleep anyway. When I saw that they hadn’t made it, I was incredibly happy and enormously relieved. For Games that take place once every four years, the difference between going and not going is just so big.”
Unreal
How different it was a year ago. Afrifa tore his hamstring in May and the Games were in jeopardy. “I took a break then to rehabilitate and recharge. I went to festivals and took time to make a nutrition plan, talked to a sports psychologist, and worked on my core. That took some time, too.”
He started training again in the fall and improved little by little. But he didn’t dare hope it would go so well. In early June, Afrifa won a silver medal with the relay team at the European Championships in Rome, and at the end of June he became Dutch champion in the 100 meter race with a personal record of 10.18 seconds. Afrifa says: “I am running faster than ever this year. It’s also a little unreal for me that things are going so well, but I just go along with it. I’m in the flow and am just letting everything come to me day by day. After the Games, I’m going to take a deep breath and see where I stand.”
Afrifa attributes the fact that he has rebounded from his injury better mentally and physically to his coach and training buddies. “I train with the Paralympic team. Compared to the setbacks they’ve had, my injury is nothing. And they are also working every day to come back stronger. That’s also the motto of our training group: Try to be better than yesterday.”
Sport fanatic
His love for sprinting had to be sparked at first. His high school friend Sylvester already recognized his talent when they were still playing soccer together in Diemen. “He honestly forced me to try sprinting,” Afrifa recounts half-jokingly. “I held off for three years because I liked soccer. Then I went to the athletics club for one training session.”
Even then, Afrifa was not immediately convinced, but the coach urged him to return. Only when Afrifa ran his first races did his feelings change. “That happened pretty fast and then the whole flow started. By that time, I had turned into a kind of fanatic of the sport. I had obviously needed some encouragement at first.”
Sports heaven
Ever since it became final that Afrifa is going to the Games, family and friends have been booking tickets to Paris. “So it’s going to be a party in any case, and for a sports fan like me, the Games are like heaven. The whole sports world will be there and the Olympic Village is so cool.”
The goals are also higher than the 16th place on the qualification list. “If we work well together as a team, we showed at the European Championships that we can get far. Of course, I dream of a medal at the Olympics, just like everyone else, but first, we need to make it to the finals.”
Olympian
Even after Paris, Afrifa wants to keep sprinting. “The better it goes, the more confidence and belief I have that I have even more potential. In the beginning, I always had dreams, but now I dream even bigger than before.” At the 2028 Games, for example, he also wants to qualify individually for the 100 meters. “Of course, I look at sprinters like Usain Bolt who are great individually. I want that, too.”
“But first, we need to go make the Games a reality,” Afrifa concludes soberly. “I still have to get there, though. Because when are you an Olympian? When you have qualified or when you have participated? I think the latter. So first, I need to make sure I arrive there in the next month unscathed and in ideal shape. That’s already a goal in itself.”
Elvis Afrifa will start the 4x100m relay on Thursday 8 August at 11.35am. If the Netherlands qualifies among the top eight countries, he will also start the finals on Friday 9 August at 19.45.
