In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 6 March 1991
- Birthplace
- Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
- Country
- Brunei
- Nationality
- Bruneian
- Known for
- Setting the Brunei 100-metre record and carrying the flag at Rio 2016
- Event
- 100 metres
- National record
- 10.59 seconds · 2015
- Olympic Games
- Rio 2016
- Ceremony role
- Opening flag bearer
Why this life matters
Fakhri Ismail raised Brunei’s men’s sprint benchmark and carried a small national athletics programme onto Southeast Asian and Olympic tracks.
Timeline
Key moments
Born in Bandar Seri Begawan
Born on 6 March.
Set a 200-metre best
Ran 22.03 seconds in Bandar Seri Begawan.
National 100-metre record
Recorded 10.59 seconds, the fastest legal time by a Bruneian man.
SEA Games final
Reached the Southeast Asian Games 100-metre final.
Rio Olympic Games
Carried Brunei’s flag and competed in the men’s 100 metres.
Chasing a national sprint standard
Fakhri Ismail developed in a country with a small athletics pool and limited high-level competition. His strongest season came in 2015, when he reached the SEA Games final and ran 10.59 seconds in Singapore.
World Athletics records the performance as Brunei’s national 100-metre record. It supplied a clear reference point for later sprinters and put him within range of the region’s established programmes.
Flag bearer in Rio
Fakhri was selected for the 2016 Olympic Games and carried Brunei’s flag at the opening ceremony. He competed in the preliminary round of the 100 metres before the full seeded heats.
His Olympic result did not advance him, but the combination of a national record, a regional final and Olympic representation made his career the defining men’s sprint sequence in modern Bruneian athletics.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Fakhri Ismail
- Who is Fakhri Ismail?
- Fakhri Ismail is a sprinter and Brunei 100-metre record holder. Fakhri Ismail raised Brunei’s men’s sprint benchmark and carried a small national athletics programme onto Southeast Asian and Olympic tracks.
- What is Fakhri Ismail best known for?
- Fakhri Ismail is best known for setting the Brunei 100-metre record and carrying the flag at Rio 2016.
- When and where was Fakhri Ismail born?
- Fakhri Ismail was born on 6 March 1991 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
Sources and further reading
How this biography was checked
Core dates and offices are checked against the sources below. This profile was last reviewed on 9 September 2026.
