Yemi Mary John

Yemi Mary John (born 3 May 2003) is a British track and field athlete. She won the gold medal in the 400 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships.

Yemi Mary John
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (2003-05-03) 3 May 2003
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportTrack and field
Event(s)400 metres
College teamUSC Trojans
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)400 m: 51.04s (Espoo, 2023)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2023 Budapest4×400 m mixed
Bronze medal – third place2023 Budapest4×400 m relay
World U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Cali 400 m
Bronze medal – third place2022 Cali 4×400 m relay
European U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place2023 Espoo400 m
European U20 Championships
Silver medal – second place2021 Tallinn400 m

Career

Yemi Mary John ran a new personal best to finish runner up in the 400 metres at the 2021 European Under-20 Championships in Tallinn.[1]

She was a member of the British 4 × 400 m relay team that finished fifth at the 2022 World Indoor Championships held in Belgrade.[2]

John was crowned the winner at the 2022 World U20 Championship 400 m event in Cali, Colombia as she lowered her personal best throughout the rounds to win the final in 51.50 seconds, the second fastest time ever recorded by a British under-20 athlete, after Linsey MacDonald's 51.16 s from 1980. She later also won bronze in the 4x400 m relay race at the event.[3][4]

Competing at the British Athletics Championships in July 2023, in Manchester, England, she reached the final of the women's 400m and finished in 3rd place.[5] She was selected as part of the Great Britain team for the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships held from in July 2023 in Espoo, Finland.[6] Yemi Mary John won a gold medal in the 400m at the event, with compatriot Keely Hodgkinson in third.[7]

She was chosen to represent Great Britain at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023.[8] Running the anchor leg in the mixed 4 x 400-metre relay, she took advantage of a late, dramatic fall by Femke Bol of the Netherlands to win world silver, her first senior representative medal.[9] A week later, she ran in the heats of the women's 4 x 400 metres relay, winning a bronze medal.

Personal life

John has a Nigerian father (Christopher Olanrewaju John) and an Italian mother (Gabriella Faciotti) who lives in London.[10] She was set to join the University of Michigan as a freshman in 2023,[11] but signed for the University of Southern California.[12]

References
  1. "European U/20 Silver for Yemi Mary John". wgel.org.
  2. "World Indoor Athletics Championships: British pair Lorraine Ugen and Marc Scott win bronze". Sky Sports.
  3. "Yemi Mary John Crowned Women's 400m World U20 Champion". British Athletics.
  4. "Two British medals as USA top medal table on final day in Cali". British Athletics.
  5. "400 m-Women Final Finished 09/07/2023". ukacm2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  6. "Keely Hodgkinson and Jeremiah Azu to Captain GB & NI at European U23 Championships". British Athletics. 13 July 2023.
  7. Goss, Symone (14 July 2023). "Yemi Mary John and Havard Bentdal Ingvaldsen win gold; bronze for Keely Hodgkinson in Espoo". World-Track. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  8. "GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND SQUAD SELECTED FOR THE 2023 WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPS". Britishathletics.org.uk. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  9. "'It sucks big time' – drama as star duo suffer falls". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  10. "Yemi Mary John, a little bit of Valenza in world gold". Ilpiccolo.net.
  11. "John Wins World Athletics U20 Gold, Bronze". mgoblue.com.
  12. "Yemi Mary John's golden gamble pays off in landmark season". Eurosport UK. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
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