Jan Sekpona (born 20 June 1987, in Lomé) is a retired Togolese middle-distance runner, who specialized in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. Sekpona qualified for the Togolese squad in the men's 800 metres at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

by attaining an entry time and a personal best of 1:52.40. Running against seven other athletes in heat three, Sekpona crossed the finish line by nearly ten minutes behind leader

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. He is the second fastest of all time over 800 meters, setting the world record and breaking his own record two more times all in 1997. He dominated the 8 ...

of Denmark with an eighth-place time in 1:54.25. Sekpona failed to advance into the semifinals as he placed farther from two automatic slots for the next round and ranked no. 70 overall in the prelims. Sekpona was also appointed as the Togolese

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

by the National Olympic Committee (french: Comité National Olympique Togolais) in the opening ceremony.

2004 Summer Olympics

Racing

Sekpona's qualifying time for the men's 800m race was 1:52.40 (a personal best). He qualified through the use of wildcard places, since their season best time fell outside of the "B" qualifying standards. Sekpona's heat time for the men's 800m race was 1:54.25 (eighth place in an eight-person heat). The heat winner,

of Denmark, finished nearly ten minutes quicker. Sekpona finished behind Bosnia and Herzegovina's Jasmin Salihović (1:49.59), Jean-Patrick Nduwimana from Burundi (1:45.38) and Brazil's Osmar dos Santos (1:45.90), who each advanced to the semifinals. Sekpona failed to advance into the semifinals. He was ranked no. 70 overall in the prelims.

Flag bearer

Sekpona was the Togolese

in the opening ceremony, appointed by the National Olympic Committee (french: Comité National Olympique Togolais).

Youngest competitor

At just 17, Sekpona was one of the youngest in history to compete in the men's 800m race at the Olympics. Along with Ali Mohamed Al-Balooshi of UAE and Majed Saeed Sultan of QAT, the 2004 heats featured three of the six youngest competitors to attempt 800m at an Olympic level.Notes from the OlyMADMan 6 August 2012 Olympic Day #10 https://www.teamusa.org/-/media/TeamUSA/Media/OlyMADMen_August-6.doc?la=en&hash=058FE8EDA33E9956AC0C86801EE057D84776F7A7

Team

In 2004 Togo entered a team of three into the Olympics, two track and field athletes and a single canoeist; Jan Sekpona in the men's 800 metres, Sandrine Thiébaud-Kangni in the women's 400 metres, and Benjamin Boukpeti in the men's K-1. The 2004 Togo team did not win any medals. The country's participation at Athens marked its seventh appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, West Germany. Togo did not win their first medal until Benjamin Boukpeti at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. They have never had more than seven participants in any one Games.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sekpona, Jan 1987 births Living people Togolese male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Togo Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Lomé 21st-century Togolese people