In a normal conversation between friends, Ryan Hamner bet Adedolapo Famuyide that he could beat him in a race.
But Famuyide had never trained for a race before.
During a cross country meet, the friends put their bet into action. After 3.1 miles, the winner between the friends was… Adedolapo. But more importantly, he discovered a hobby he had never thought about before but would soon change the course of his athletic career.
“That very race I beat him and was like, maybe this sport is for me,” Famuyide said.
Over time Famuyide learned to use running as an outlet. Famuyide has a 800m time of 2:03.40, 1500 time of 4:31.41, 1600m time of 4:44,57, and a mile time of 4:57.29.
“[Running] helps me be disciplined, focused, and also helps me know what my goal is at the same time. I put more emphasis on discipline because I have to stay consistent every day and running has really helped me find my rhythm,” Famuyide said.
While Famuyide is exemplary at running, his academics are also notable. He is seventh in the senior class with a weighted GPA of 4.98, a Palmetto Fellow, and a recipient of a local AKA scholarship and USC’s Dean Scholarship.
“He’s a hard working kid that does everything he’s supposed to do when he’s supposed to do. He’s very responsible, you can always count on him,” track coach Walter Wilson said.
Famuyide will be attending the University of South Carolina Honors College to major in biology and later pursue a career in the cardiovascular medical profession. He also plans to walk on to the track team at the school.
“The coach told me to get an offer, I need to run a 1:57-ish time, but with my times right now I could walk on,” Famuyide said.
Juggling academics and sports is hard, but try adding in adapting to a new country. Famuyide moved to America from Nigeria at the age of seven years old.
“My dad saw a better opportunity in America because he wants his kids, me and my brothers, to learn and have a better education, so America was the best place,” Famuyide said.
While there were better opportunities in America, the Famuyide family also left Nigeria because the government was very corrupt and the prices were starting to get high.
“The biggest [challenge] was my accent because like when I was young I was very shy. Not a lot of people knew me because I didn’t like talking to people because they always made fun of my accent,” Famuyide said.
Even with his past challenges, Famuyide has learned to look for good things in people.
“Even if you do bad, even or wrong, I think everybody has done good and dumb things. And I like to bring it out because there is always good to share,” Famuyide said.
