Emmanuel Matadi expects these Olympics — his third — to be his last.

Frankly, it’s three more than he ever expected.

“Yeah, I’m surprised, I’m not going to lie,” he said.

The 2009 St. Paul Johnson High School grad’s track and field career appeared to be over when he took more than a year hiatus from the sport in between college stops.

But once he reconnected with sprinting at Minnesota State Mankato, the love affair hasn’t been broken since. His coach, Darryl Woodson, said the 33-year-old “still likes track and field.”

Emmanuel Matadi, of Liberia, and Chituru Ali, of Italy, from left, compete in a men’s 60 meters heat during the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday, March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

“That’s important that he still has a positive attitude towards the sport,” Woodson said. “He has a great work ethic. It’s so easy to work with someone that has an attitude like him. The coach can only coach effort or technique. You can’t do both. He gives me all the effort. That’s one of the things about him that makes it so easy. It’s hard to coach an athlete that doesn’t want to do this.”

What’s interesting about Matadi is his motivations for getting up and training each day to his maximum capabilities have very little to do with himself.

“It’s not about me, honestly,” he said.

It’s about his home country of Liberia. It’s about wanting to be an example for which others can strive. It’s about wanting to help build something much bigger than himself.

Matadi was Liberia’s male flag bearer during this year’s Opening Ceremony, the second time in three Olympics that he received the honor. His first time as flag-bearer came in his first appearance in Rio De Janeiro in 2016. Back then, Matadi was one of just two Olympians competing for the African nation.

In his mind, that simply wasn’t enough.

“I really wanted to evolve Liberia as far as track and field and the Olympics. I kind of took myself out of it, and I realized that if I was done too early, there was going to be a big gap between me and the next one to come up, probably,” Matadi said. “Because no one wants to be the first and the only one doing something. And our team is pretty small. So I think, for me, it was like, ‘OK, last long enough, be able to do well enough to make it an attractive thing to do, a cool thing to do to be able to come and represent your home country.’”

Mission accomplished, to a large degree. Liberia’s delegation in Paris is up to eight athletes. It’s not a massive number, but it does represent massive growth. Included in that eight is a 4×100 relay that, yes, also features Matadi.

“I got here when the ball was already rolling,” said Hopkins grad Joe Fahnbulleh, who anchors the relay and will also compete individually in the 200 meter dash. “Matadi got here from Ground Zero – there was no ball. There was no sponsor, there was no anything. It was just him. He had to thug it out the whole way through and learn on the fly.”

Matadi said the evolution of the delegation shows “the influence you can have on people.”

“I think that was the biggest thing for me,” he said. “Because when I left, I didn’t want to leave and nobody was there. I wanted to enjoy it and watch and see somebody compete for my country, as well.”

He’ll have that opportunity in Olympics to come.

“Obviously, this is my last Olympics,” Matadi confirmed. “I’m not going to come back in 2028.”

He’ll be 37 years old at that point. Racing on this stage at age 33 is a feat in itself. Of the top 20 men’s 100-meter runners, Matadi — ranked No. 15 in the world — is more than two and a half years older than everyone else heading into Saturday’s opening round of the men’s 100 meters, which is slated for 4:55 a.m. Central.

Asked if sprinting is a young man’s game, Matadi responded, “1,000 percent.”

“It’s hard. A lot of the good sprinters have short careers, like two to three years when they’re running well,” Matadi said. “So to be able to run sub-10 in your 30s is rare.”

Woodson said Matadi’s lack of mileage has worked in his favor. Matadi didn’t seriously compete in track and field until the spring of his junior year at Johnson High School, and had that year off in college.

But Matadi credits his longevity to those around him, from Woodson to his training group. Good people create a good environment, which generates good results. He also thinks with age has come maturity and an understanding of how to take care of his body and train in a smart, efficient manner that has him at his best come race time.

Perhaps that wisdom is what has Matadi, who had an excellent indoor campaign to open the year, peaking at exactly the right time. He set a new personal best and Liberian record in the 100 meters at the Holloway Pro Classic a couple of weeks ago in Florida, winning in 9.91 seconds, besting his previous top mark, and Matadi was pulling away from the field at the finish.

“I’m running well this year,” he said. “I’m in good form. I think I’m in a good spot right now.”

Woodson said Matadi is no longer a sleeper in the 100 meters.

“I think his competitors know he has a lot of talent,” Woodson said. “If he gets to where we know he can get, it won’t be a surprise. The thing is, this is about doing it when it counts, and the biggest thing about this sport and the success is, if you don’t do it when it counts, the only person that remembers it is you.

“This is his moment, and knowing this is his last Olympics — and it probably is — I think he’s going to give it everything he has, because there’s nothing to lose. I think he has less pressure on him versus some of his other competitors. … If he executes like he has the last couple of times that he’s run, I like his chances of being right there in the top three in the finals.”

Frankly, Matadi’s definition of a successful Olympics will be the knowledge that he performed to the best of his ability. In 2016, he didn’t have a firm grasp of what to expect. In 2021, a small tear in his hip suffered just prior to the Olympics impeded his performance. He didn’t reach the semifinals in either appearance.

The injury in 2021 prevented Matadi from feeling like he left the Olympics on his terms, and also played a role in his decision to take one last swing at it. He noted the standard time dropping to 10 seconds flat for the Paris Games left some doubt in his mind as to whether a return was possible, but here he is.

“But you go out there, you do your best, and it happened,” he said. “I’m not going to say I was surprised, but I was like, ‘I’ve still got a little bit left.’ ”

Now, it’s time to make the most of it.

“They say the third time is a charm,” Matadi said with a laugh. “Definitely have been very intentional about what I want to do and how I’ve been preparing for what I need to do when I get there.”

In past Olympic trips, Matadi feels as though he was trying to force results. In his final go around, he plans to stick to his process, relax and enjoy the moment.

“This one, I feel like I’ve done everything possible to be able to be prepared,” he said. “So going in and racing how I’m supposed to race and, regardless of the result, knowing that I put my best foot forward, that’ll be a success for me.”

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