Flings Owusu-Agyapong (born 16 October 1988) is a Ghanaian sprinter. She was born in

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

, Ghana to parents Kwadwo Agyapong and Adwoa Akomaa and moved to Toronto, Canada when she was 9 years old. She started training with the Flying Angels athletics club after her sophomore year of high school. In 2006 and 2007 she made the Ontario provincial team for the National Scholastic Indoor Championships. Owusu-Agyapong attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

on an athletic scholarship. While at Syracuse she broke the school records for the 55, 60, and 100 metres and was a two-time 2nd team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. She graduated from Syracuse with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in public health. She competed in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and the

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. She was also the flag bearer for the Ghanaian team at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Career

Owusu-Agyapong competed in the 60 metres at the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and 2016 World Indoor Championships without advancing from the first round. She competed in the

and the

at the

. She achieved qualification for the 100 metres in April 2016 by running 11.30 at the 2016 Miami Hurricane Alumni Invitational in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. With her teammates

Gemma Acheampong Gemma Acheampong (born February 13, 1993) is a Ghanaian-American athlete specialising in the sprinting events. She holds the Ghanaian record in the rarely-contested indoor 300 meters event, and represented Ghana in the 4 × 100 metres relay at th ...

, Janet Amponsah, and

Beatrice Gyaman Beatrice Gyaman (born 17 February 1987) is a Ghanaian track and field athlete specialising in the sprinting events. She has won medals in the 4 × 100 metres relay at three African Championships, as well as the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Educatio ...

she achieved qualification for the 4 x 100 metres relay on 8 July 2016 by running 42.67 to win the 4 x 100 metres at the Soga-Nana Memorial meet in

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

. The time of 42.67 was a new national record, eclipsing the previous record of 43.19 that had stood since 2000. The same team also won silver at the 2016 African Championships in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

in June 2016 in a time of 44.05. At the 2016 Olympics she finished 4th in her heat of the

in a time of 11.43 but did not advance to the semifinals. In the 4 × 100 metres the team finished 8th in their heat in a time of 43.47 and did not qualify for the final.

Competition record

¹Disqualified in the semifinals

Personal bests

Outdoor *

– 11.26 (+0.3 m/s, Clermont 2016) *

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

– 23.28 (+1.7 m/s, Coral Gables 2016) Indoor *

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior at ...

– 7.18 (New York 2015) NR *

– 23.34 (Boston 2016) NR

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owusu-Agyapong, Flings 1988 births Living people Ghanaian female sprinters Canadian female sprinters Sportspeople from Kumasi Ghanaian emigrants to Canada Track and field athletes from Ontario Black Canadian female track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 African Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes for Ghana Commonwealth Games competitors for Ghana African Games silver medalists for Ghana African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games Olympic female sprinters