Fatmata Fofanah is a Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

n athlete who specializes in the 100 metres hurdles

100 metres hurdles

The 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...

. Born in Sierra Leone duiring the Civil War

Sierra Leone Civil War

The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front , with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia , intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government...

, she grew up in Guinea and the United States. Fatmata was twice an All-American Women's Track and Field athlete for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and in early 2008, won the 100 Metre Hurdles Gold Medal at the African Championships

2008 African Championships in Athletics

The 16th African Championships in Athletics was held in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, from April 30 to May 4, 2008. The competition venue was the Addis Ababa Stadium. It is the largest Athletics event held in Ethiopia to date...

 in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

.

She was chosen for the 2008 Guinean Olympic squad

Guinea at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Guinea sent a delegation of five athletes compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, which included Mariama Dalanda Barry in Taekwondo, Fatmata Fofanah , Djene Barry and Mamadou Cisse in swimming, and Nabie Foday Fofanah in Athletics...

 to run the Women's 100 m hurdles

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre hurdles

-Round 1:Qualifying rule: first two of each heat plus the six fastest times qualified.-Semifinals:Qualification: First 4 in each heat and the next fastest advance to the Final.-Final:...

, was the Flag Bearer for her nation, and was much favoured going into her first qualifying heat. Sadly, she fell at the first hurdle, and while uninjured, was unable to finish.

Her brother, Nabie Foday Fofanah

Nabie Foday Fofanah

Nabie Foday Fofanah is a Guinean sprinter. He was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone and lives in New York City.Fofanah grew up in Guinea, Canada, France and the United States, attending Lehman College of the City University of New York from 2001–04, and running track with their team, where he was a...

 is a sprinter who has also competed in the 2004 and 2008 Guinean Olympic squads.

Her personal best time is 12.96 seconds, achieved in June 2007 in Sacramento.

Achievements

2007	All-Africa Games Athletics at the 2007 All-Africa Games The athletics competition at the 2007 All-Africa Games was held on the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers, Algeria between 18 July and 22 July 2007. Nigeria was the most successful nation of the competition having won nine golds and 24 medals in total. South Africa was a close second with seven golds...	Algiers Algiers ' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000... , Algeria Algeria Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...	3rd	100 m hrd
2008	African Championships 2008 African Championships in Athletics The 16th African Championships in Athletics was held in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, from April 30 to May 4, 2008. The competition venue was the Addis Ababa Stadium. It is the largest Athletics event held in Ethiopia to date...	Addis Ababa Addis Ababa Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia... , Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...	1st	100 m hrd