Pharoahe Zaire, National Champion, Again

Pharoahe Zaire became a two-time All-American after travelling from Columbus, Ohio to compete in the AAU 14-Under National Championship for the third time. Pharoahe earned a national championship in the shot put for the second time in four seasons.

Below: Video footage of Pharoahe Zaire's winning throw as well as him getting his gold medal.

The 14-year-old completed his busiest week as a student athlete by winning the 14-year-old division with a career best mark of 12.75 meters, converting to 41 feet and 10 inches, Friday, at Eastern Michigan University. The 6-foot-8, 300-pound eighth grader started his week by helping his middle school basketball team qualify for the City Championship game on Monday, Feb. 13. At center, Pharoahe scored 22 points, leading Woodward Park Middle School in the Columbus City Schools playoffs semifinal round as his team won 50-20.

On Thursday, Feb. 16, he suffered heartbreak as his middle school basketball career came to a close. Pharoahe led his team in scoring with 12 points but Woodward Park fell short losing to Sherwood 35-26 in a defensive struggle. It was his team's only loss of the season. The giant teen dried up his tears from a passionate playoff run and showed up determined to do his best as well as have fun at the AAU 14-Under National Championship.

Prior to taking on a field of 10 competitors, Pharoahe had to put the hardest loss of his career out of his mind, travel to Ypsilanti, Michigan the very next day and wait for nearly eight hours at the venue as his age division was the final to compete, starting competition after midnight due to a vast amount of competitors in previous age groups.

When the 14-year-old boys division was starting Pharoahe approached the group of his peers to report for competition and instantly became the topic of discussion. Some of the competitors felt defeated right away and questioned his age. Other nearby kids who happened to be watching the competition spoke out loud about how it was impossible to be 14 years of age at 6-foot-8.

One teen who wasn't competing laughed while saying, "Look at this big [N-word]," attempting to get laughs at Pharoahe's expense. He joked that Pharoahe had to be a grown man and must've paid someone to enter the competition.

"It was a bit cruel," said Pharoahe's dad and coach Gezus Zaire. "We're kind of used to it but today I had to address a few of the people and politely ask them to relax because Pharoahe is a person too. He just came to compete and shouldn't be punished because he's taller and bigger than most people.

"Some people think because he is big, that it's okay to disrespect him. It shows how we have to improve as a society. It wouldn't be tolerated if people were being mean to him because of his race and it shouldn't be tolerated because of his size as well. It's the same thing. People use differences to try to belittle you. They want you to feel inferior because they feel inferior and you just can't allow that to defeat you and take you out of your game."

While fighting off fatigue due to the long wait, Pharoahe rose up to the challenge and put on a show for the spectators who remained after midnight with six powerful throws. The two-time All-American rocked side-to-side in the pit charged forward and let out a lion-like roar as he held off, a talented and determined runner-up Noah Keel who placed second at 12.42 meters.

Above: Keyon Coleman, Noah Keel & Pharoahe Zaire placed third, second and first respectively.

Throughout the competition Pharoahe did what he normally does, showing great sportsmanship as he congratulated each thrower after each attempt. "He does his best to try to lift you up and encourage you throughout the competition," his dad said. "Yes, Pharoahe wants to win, but he wants the best for you and if your best is better than his, he won't be bitter. He will shake your hand and clap for you."

Another challenge Pharoahe had to overcome was that he hadn't thrown nor touched a shot ball since March 12, 2022, when he placed fourth at the middle school indoor state championship in Ohio last season as a seventh grader. Since then he was focused on improving his skills as a basketball talent. Training with Renny Tyson of IBT Academy, Pharoahe developed into an All-State basketball player on the middle school level.

Below: Pharoahe Zaire was featured on Ball is Life, earning over 1.4 million views.

His goal was to come in off of the street without any practice, fresh after basketball season and see how good he could throw. It was his strength and size against the technique and preparation of everyone else. This time Pharoahe's strength and size took the gold, once again.

He won his first national championship in 2020 at 11-years-old in the 12-year-old division. The following year a far more technically sound Jelani Walker avenged his 2020 loss to the physically larger Pharoahe to restart his championship reign that previously existed from 2015-2019. Pharoahe also finished second in 2021 at the AAU Indoor National meet in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which wasn't limited to athletes 14 and under.

Immediately after his win this year, an opposing coach raised a concern to Pharoahe's age saying that he should be competing against 15 and 16-year-olds. In this particular meet the rules state that athletes born in 2008 must turn 15 after Feb. 19, 2023. Pharoahe's 15th birthdate is August 4, 2008, which made him eligible for the meet.

And just in case you thought the national champion's schedule in sports was done, he will compete in his third basketball game in less than a week, tomorrow. He was selected to play with the Ohio Middle School All-State East All-Stars. Rewarded for an excellent season that saw his team go 14-1 he will compete alongside his Woodward Park teammates Reuben Holmes, Keon Bonner and his head coach Quentin Henderson who was selected to guide the team after his first season at the school.

Above: All-American and high jump champ Brittany Douglas.

On another note, Pharoahe's schoolmate Brittany Douglas, a seventh grader from Woodward Park competing for Ohio Heat, won a national championship and All-American honors in the 13-year-old division of the high jump with a mark of 1.27 meters. Like Pharoahe, she also competed in basketball for Woodward Park. She helped her team finish the season with a 10-2 record after qualifying for the semifinal round of the city playoffs.

Read about how Pharoahe Zaire first captured a national championship in 2020 as an 11-year-old.