Joseph M'Bouroukounda
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph M'Bouroukounda |
| Nationality | Gabonese |
| Born | 7 September 1938 Fernand-Vaz, Gabon |
| Died | 1 October 2017 (aged 79) Libreville, Gabon |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Boxing |
Joseph "Joe" M'Bouroukounda (7 September 1938 – 1 October 2017) was a Gabonese boxer and art teacher. Born in Fernand-Vaz, he would move to Brazzaville in his late teens for his studies and would eventually start boxing. He then moved to France to study art and continued the sport, winning regional titles. He would later settle in Libreville though would return to Europe in 1972.
There, he would compete for Gabon at the 1972 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Gabonese Olympian. He would compete in the men's featherweight event but would be defeated by Ruedi Vogel in the first round. Sometime after the Summer Games, he would retire and served as a coach instead. He would also be the president of the Gabonese Boxing Federation on multiple occasions. Until his retirement, he worked as an art teacher in Libreville.
Biography
[edit]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. He then moved to Brazzaville in his late teens for his studies. There, he would start boxing. He then moved to France around 1960 to study art and continued the sport, winning regional titles near Paris.[1]
He moved back to the country and settled in Libreville until he would go back to Europe in 1972.[1] There, he would compete for Gabon at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, becoming the first Gabonese athlete to compete at an Olympic Games. There, he would compete in the first round of the men's featherweight event on 27 August. Though, he would be defeated by Ruedi Vogel of Switzerland in the round, ending his run for the 1972 Summer Games.[2]
Sometime after the Summer Games, he would retire from the sport but remained active as a coach. He would also serve as the president of the Gabonese Boxing Federation from 1975 to 1978 and 1985. Outside of sport, he would also work as an art teacher in Libreville until his retirement. He would become blind and his memory would deteriorate until his death on 25 September 2017 in Libreville at the age of 79.[1]
His grand-nephew, Yannick Mitoumba, would represent Gabon at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[1]
