Joseph Deng
{{Short description|Australian mid-distance runner}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Joseph Deng
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| nickname = Dengfever, Deng
| nationality = Australian
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1998|7|7|df=y}}
| birth_place = Kakuma, Kenya
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| residence = Melbourne, Australia
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| height = {{convert|183|cm|in}}
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| country = Australia
| sport = Middle-distance running
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| event = 800 metres
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| club = St Kevins
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| coach = Justin Rinaldi
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| worlds =
| regionals = 2018 Commonwealth Games
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| pb = 1:43.99 {{AthAbbr|AR|Oceanian}} (2023)
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Joseph Deng (born 7 July 1998) is an Australian middle-distance runner.
In 2018, he broke the 800-metre Australian record (which had stood since the 1968 Mexico Olympics) and five years later bettered the record again to 1:43.99.
Deng also runs sprint distances, with 47.25 over the 400 m and a wind-aided 22.24 200 m.
Early years
Deng was born in Kakuma, Kenya in a UNHCR refugee camp (first established in 1969). His mother left Sudan to escape the Second Sudanese Civil War.{{cite news |last1=Read |first1=Brent |title=Joseph Deng the Sudanese refugee who can win 800m medal |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/joseph-deng-the-sudanese-refugee-who-can-win-800m-medal/news-story/19de6b2950e95539699295bb2c3f5eed |accessdate=21 July 2018 |work=The Australian |date=11 April 2018}}{{cite web |title=Joseph Deng |url=https://www.athletics.com.au/olympic-athlete-profiles/josephdeng/ |accessdate=20 July 2018 |website=Athletics Australia website}}
In 2004, Deng's family moved to Toowoomba, Queensland when he was six and in 2010 he moved to Ipswich at the age of 12.{{cite news |title=Australian Joseph Deng has broken the 50-year-old Australian 800m record at the Diamond League meet in Monaco. |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/former-refugee-smashes-australian-800m-record |accessdate=20 July 2018 |work=SBS News |date=21 July 2018}} He first attended Raceview State School, where he was encouraged to attend after-school athletics coaching at Ipswich Grammar School under the guidance of coach Di Sheppard. Deng was later granted a scholarship at Ipswich Grammar School and continued to be coached by Sheppard. His uncle John Deng also played a role in his development.
At the age of 17, Deng was selected in the Australian team for the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships. He finished third in the 800m semi-final in 1:48.49 but failed to qualify for the final. Later in 2016, he ran a personal best of 1:46.51. Following this, he moved to Melbourne to be coached by Justin Rinaldi, who had coached Alexander Rowe to run 1:44.40.
Breakthrough year
In 2018, Deng was controversially selected to compete in 800 m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Queensland having not qualifying for the final at the Australian Athletics Championships. But in the B final he ran a personal best of 1:45.71 and was subsequently selected. At the Games, he finished seventh in the 800 m final in 1:47.20.
In July 2018, at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco, he finished seventh in the 800 m but broke the Australian record with a time of 1:44.21. The previous Australian record of 1:44.30 was set by Ralph Doubell in winning the gold medal at altitude at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and equalled in 2014 by Alexander Rowe in Monaco. Deng's record also broke New Zealander Peter Snell's Oceania record of 1:44.30 that had been set in Christchurch in 1962. At the end of the 2018 season, Deng had run four times under 1:45 in the year, the most ever by an Australian.{{cite web |title=Deng breaks long-standing Australian 800m record - Monaco Diamond League |url=http://athletics.com.au/News/deng-breaks-long-standing-australian-800m-record-monaco-diamond-league |website=Athletics Australia |accessdate=21 July 2018}}
Following the political controversy surrounding purported "African crime gangs" in Melbourne, Deng was cited by the ABC as "a track star of boundless potential" and "proof positive of what immigrants can offer to their adopted country when given the opportunity."{{cite news |last=Gearin |first=Mary |date=26 July 2018 |title=Joseph Deng and other Sudanese-Australian athletes offer bright future |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-26/jospeh-deng-on-breaking-800m-record-being-sudanese-role-model/10030632 |work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|location=Sydney |access-date=5 September 2018}}
Return to prominence
In 2023, Deng recaptured the 800 m national record (which had been progressively improved by his training partner Peter Bol in 2021 and 2022) with a new personal best of 1:43.99 in Lyon, France.{{cite news |last=Gullan |first=Scott |date=9 July 2023 |title=Joseph Deng sets new national record with fastest 800m in Australian history |url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/athletics/joseph-deng-sets-new-national-record-with-fastest-800m-in-australian-history/news-story/81300bf33ac65ee103487e5ba1ddc69e |work=News Corp Australia|location=Sydney |access-date=11 July 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{World Athletics}}
- [https://www.athletics.com.au/athlete/joseph-deng/ Joseph Deng] at Australian Athletics ([https://web.archive.org/web/20230528120054/https://www.athletics.com.au/athlete-profiles-directory/joseph-deng/ archive 2023], [https://web.archive.org/web/20190317025022/http://athletics.com.au/Profiles/Athlete-Profiles/Athlete-Profile-Joseph-Deng-2 archive 2019])
- [https://athletics.possumbility.com/athletes/athlete7204.htm Joseph Deng] at Australian Athletics Historical Results
- {{Australian Olympic Committee|joseph-deng}}
- {{Commonwealth Games Australia|joseph-deng}}
- {{Olympics.com|joseph-deng}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20240730135241/https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/joseph-deng_1939800 Joseph Deng] at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (archived, [https://paris2024.rtve.es/es/paris-2024/atleta/joseph-deng_1939800 alternate link])
- {{2018 Commonwealth Games profile|athletics/athlete-profile-n6069282-joseph-deng}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Joseph}}
Category:Australian male middle-distance runners
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
Category:Commonwealth Games athletes for Australia
Category:Australian people of South Sudanese descent
Category:Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent
Category:South Sudanese refugees
Category:People from Rift Valley Province
Category:People educated at Ipswich Grammar School
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics