Jessika Lauren Maca Gbai (born 29 December 1998) is an Ivorian track and field athlete from the Ivory Coast who competes as a sprinter. Gbai made her Olympic debut for women’s 200m on 4 August 2024 at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. And successfully made into the final, finished in 8th for her Olympic-Final debut as a first-time Olympian.
Early life
Jessika Gbai born in Côte d'Ivoire, moved to Philadelphia (USA) as a child, she holds both citizenships. Was cleared by World Athletics to represent Côte d'Ivoire starting from 1 June 2022.
She graduated from Howard University, where she competed for the Howard Bison track and field team and graduated in 2022 with degrees in biology and political science.
Career Jessika Gbai competed in the 200 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, running 22.82 seconds in the semi-final.
She was part of the Ivory Coast 4x100m relay team that ran 42.23 seconds to set a new national record win the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne. In August 2023, she set a new personal best time for the 200 meters of 22.43 seconds in Kinshasa jn winning gold for the Ivory Coast at the 2023 Francophone Games.
Selected for the 200 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest kn August 2023, she qualified for the semi-finals.
She ran as part of the Ivory Coast 4x100m relay team which qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.
Jessika Gbai made her Olympics debut for women’s 200m on 4 August 2024 at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In 200m, she finished her semi finals with a new personal best 22.36s. She successfully made into the final for 200m as a first-time Olympian, finished in 8th with a time of 22.70s She also competed in the 4x100m relay at the Games.
She ran 23.14 seconds to finish sixth in the 200 metres at the 2025 Xiamen Diamond League event in China, in April 2025. She also finishes sixth at the 2025 Shanghai Diamond League event in China on 3 May 2025, in a new seasons best time of 22.88 seconds. In May 2025, she was named as a challenger for the long sprints category at the 2025 Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia. She finished sixth over 200 metres at the Diamond League event at the 2025 Golden Gala in Rome on 6 June 2025. She placed seventh over 200 metres at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on 28 August.
In September 2025, she was a semi-finalist in the 200 metres at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. She also ran in the women's 4 x 100 metres relay at the championships.
Athletics achievements Information from her World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted. Personal bests TypeDistanceTime (s)Wind (m/s)VenueDateNotesIndividual eventsIndoor60 metres7.51Virginia Beach, United States23 February 2022200 metres 23.78Lynchburg, United States15 February 2020Virginia Beach, United States23 February 2022300 metres 37.62Gainesville, United States17 January 2025400 metres 53.19Clemson, United States31 January 2025Outdoor100 metres11.22+0.9Clermont, United States14 May 2023200 metres22.36+0.1Paris, France5 August 2024300 metres36.16Coral Gables, United States15 March 2024400 metres51.94Gainesville, United States13 April 2024Team eventsIndoor4 × 200 metres relay 1:39.68New York, United States15 January 20224 × 400 metres relay 3:38.67Virginia Beach, United States23 February 2022Outdoor4 × 100 metres relay41.90Budapest, Hungary25 August 2023 4 × 400 metres relay3:25.08Gainesville, United States30 March 2024
International competitions 2022World ChampionshipsEugene, Oregon18th (sf)200 m22.842023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary19th (sf)200 m22.884 × 100 m relay2024World RelaysNassau, The Bahamas6th (h)4 × 100 m relay42.63African ChampionshipsDouala, Cameroon1st200 m22.84Olympic GamesParis, France8th200 m22.704 × 100 m relay2025World ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan11th (sf)200 m22.5612th (sf)4 × 100 m relay44.64 Circuit performances
References