The 2024 Paris Olympics produced mouthwatering moments and performances from athletes of different continents in both team and individual events. African athletes were also present and made a strong case for themselves in Paris, attaining personal bests and clinching medals on the podium for their various nations.
Here are seven African athletes who made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Letsile Tebogo – Botswana
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The 100m and 200m Botswana sprinter will be one of the names to be remembered in this edition after clinching the gold medal in the 200m final with a 19.46 finish. Letsile Tebogo became the first African sprinter in the history of the games to win the gold medal in the 200m events. Tebogo who lost his mother earlier this year ran with her date of birth on his track spikes.
He also became Botswana’s first Olympic gold medalist in history after edging USA’s duo Kenneth Bednarek and Noah Lyles. Tebogo reached the finish line slapping his chest like track legend Usain Bolt, dedicating the gesture to the passing of his mother.
He will surely remember this glory at the Stade de France after becoming the fifth fastest man in the history of the 200m events. Botswana’s president then announced 9th August as a holiday after the historic exploits of Tebogo in Paris.
Tatjana Smith – South Africa
South Africa’s Tatjana Smith was also one of the standout performers at the 2024 Paris Olympics after clinching the gold medal in the 100m breaststroke events in Swimming.
Smith, three days later in France – also added a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke and made sure to place smiles on the faces of South Africans from Pretoria City.
The 27-year-old, who is a two-time Olympian, won gold and silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics in the 200m and 100m breaststroke and has gone on to find the podium twice in the 2024 edition as well, this time gold in the 100m events and silver in the 200m events
Beatrice Chebet – Kenya
Long-distance sprinter for Kenya, Beatrice Chebet secured the gold medal in the women’s 5000m final in France after an impressive performance, edging her national compatriot and historic Olympian Faith Kipyegon in her first-ever Olympic appearance.
Chebet finished in a time of 14:28:56s, attaining her personal best record after her previous 14:54:33. She now holds 13 medals in her locker across Junior and senior Olympic and World Championships events in the 5000m, and she will surely be back to defend her title in the next edition.
Chebet also clinched the gold medal in the women’s 10,000m final and is the first Kenyan woman in history to complete an Olympic double.
Kaylia Nemour – Algeria
Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour is another name that impressed many in the artistic gymnastics dominated by the Americans and Caribbeans.
Nemour became the first African and Algerian gymnast to win an Olympic medal (gold) in the uneven bars events, writing her name in the long historic books after attaining such a pleasing feat. She also holds the record as the first African gymnast to clinch a medal (silver) in the World Championships.
Cindy Ngamba – Cameroon
Cindy Ngamba became the first-ever EOC refugee medalist in the history of the Olympics in Paris 2024. Ngamba grabbed a bronze medal after missing out on the final of the team boxing events.
The refugee team was initially introduced at the 2016 Tokyo Olympics and prior to her exploits in boxing at this edition, no refugee had secured a place on the podium.
Faith Kipyegon
Another notable name that made a difference at the Paris Olympics was Kenya’s track legend Faith Kipyegon who won silver in the 5000m events. Kipyegon had already clinched gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics and in 2020, Tokyo. He now holds 27 medals in her career across the Junior Championships, World Relay Championships, World Championships and the Olympics.
Kipyegon then extended her record in the women’s 1500m events by winning gold and became the first athlete to clinch the gold medal in the event in three successive editions. He also set a new Olympic record in the 1500m final with a 3.51.29s finish, leaving the world’s biggest stage in style.
Emmanuel Wanyony
Also, 20-year-old Kenyan sprinter Emmanuel Wanyonyi secured the gold medal in the men’s 800m final. It is Wanyonyi’s first-ever Olympic appearance in this edition, and he not only made the podium on his debut, but he edged the experienced Marco Arop of Canada and Djamel Sedjati from Algeria to win his maiden Olympic medal.
The Paris Olympics draws near to its closing but these athletes can keep their heads up in hopes of further glory, knowing their exploits at the biggest stage are not to be forgotten any time soon.
