Joseph M'Bouroukounda
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph M'Bouroukounda |
| Nationality | Gabonese |
| Born | 7 September 1938 Fernand-Vaz, Gabon |
| Died | 25 September 2017 (aged 79) Libreville, Gabon |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Boxing |
Joseph "Joe" M'Bouroukounda (7 September 1938 – 25 September 2017) was a Gabonese boxer. He competed for Gabon at the 1972 Summer Olympics in the men's featherweight event, becoming the first Gabonese Olympian. He was also a bronze medalist at the 1965 All-Africa Games. After his competitive career, he served as a coach.
Biography
Joseph "Joe" M'Bouroukounda was born on 7 September 1938 to an ethnic Shira Christian family in the village of Fernand-Vaz, in what was then French Equatorial Africa.[1] At age eight, he was frequently bullied by his classmates at the Fernand-Vaz primary school, in part because he only spoke the Gisir language and not French, "the language of the colonizer".[2][3] In hopes of being respected, he decided to increase his size and gain more strength by lifting weights.[3] M'Bouroukounda also began practicing combat sports, enjoying boxing, and he eventually earned the respect of his "adversaries" in school.[3]
M'Bouroukounda received a Certificat d’Études Primaires et Élémentaire (Certificate of Primary and Elementary Studies, CEPE) from a Catholic school in Port-Gentil in 1953.[3] He then moved to Brazzaville in his late teens for his studies, enrolling at the School of Fine Arts.[1][3] He studied there for three years before graduating and moving to Libreville, where he became a visual arts teacher and continued to box.[2][3] In 1960, he competed at a tournament in Antananarivo, Madagascar, before several high-ranking African government officials and won, earning the praise of Gabonese Prime Minister Léon M'ba. After this tournament, he set a goal of competing at the 1965 All-Africa Games, training more regularly at the Libreville boxing club. He eventually qualified for the Games and won the bronze medal in the featherweight event, defeating a Congolese competitor named Kimbémbé for the medal.[3][4] Gabonese media website Info241 later described this achievement as an "unexpected miracle at a time when Gabon still had few, if any, high-quality professional boxing facilities".[3]
With the support of Léon M'ba, M'Bouroukounda was sent to France to continue his art studies and refine his boxing skills.[4] He won regional boxing titles near Paris as a member of the Marcel Cerdan Club but later moved back to Gabon in 1967.[2] A few years later, he was selected to compete for Gabon at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, becoming the country's first-ever Olympian.[1] In the first round of the men's featherweight event on 27 August, he was defeated by Ruedi Vogel of Switzerland.[5] He was celebrated upon his return home by fans, but received no attention from the government, which had, after M'ba's death, prioritized infrastructure and politics over sport.[3] Disliking the government's lack of support for sports, he retired from boxing soon after but remained active in the sport as a coach, establishing his own club.[3] He was coach for the national team and also served as the president of the Gabonese Boxing Federation from 1975 to 1978 and in 1985.[1][3] Outside of sport, he worked as an art teacher in Libreville until his retirement.[1]
M'Bouroukounda was married and had 17 children.[3] His grand-nephew, Yannick Mitoumba, represented Gabon at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[1] In his last years, M'Bouroukounda suffered from paralysis, went blind, and his memory deteriorated.[1][3] He died in Libreville on 25 September 2017, at the age of 79.[4] After his death, he was described in the Gabon Review as "the greatest Gabonese boxer of all time".[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Joe M'Bouroukounda Biographical Information". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "Joe Mbourounkounda (boxe) : Dans les étoiles" [Joe Mbourounkounda (boxing): In the stars]. L'Union (in French). 1 January 1999.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ndinga, Andy Lionel (1 March 2021). "Joseph Mboroukounda, premier athlète gabonais à prendre part aux Jeux Olympiques" [Joseph Mboroukounda, first Gabonese athlete to take part in the Olympic Games]. Info241 (in French) – via archive.today.
- ^ a b c d Ntoutoume, Loic (26 September 2017). "Joseph Mbouroukounda sort du ring de la vie" [Joseph Mbouroukounda leaves the ring of life]. Gabon Review (in French).
- ^ "Featherweight (≤57 kilograms), Men". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.