10 Standout African Moments From Paris Olympics

A handful of first-time Olympic gold medals

African athletes made history across multiple events in Paris, a handful of them leading to Olympic gold glory. Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour won the first ever Olympic gymnastics medal for an African country, securing gold in the uneven bars event with a record-tying score of 15.700. Similarly, Ahmed Elgendy won gold in the modern pentathlon, a multi-sport event that includes cross country running, laser pistol shooting and more. Elgendy’s win, a first for Egypt and Africa, came on the back of a world record score of 1,555 points.

In athletics, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo became the first African to win gold in the 200m, blitzing through the finish line in 19.46 seconds, the fifth fastest time in Olympic history.

Meanwhile, Tunisia’s Firas Katoussi and Algeria’s Imane Khelif were the first Olympic champions for their countries in their respective sports. Katoussi, a multiple-time African champion competing at the Olympics for the first time, won gold in men’s 80kg taekwondo, defeating Mehran Barkhordari 2-0 in the contest.

Khelif won in women’s welterweight boxing, braving misinformed scrutiny and online vitriol after her quarter-final opponent created speculation concerning her gender. Khelif defeated world champion, China’s Yang Liu, in a unanimous decision, to win her first Olympic gold medal.

Faith Kipyegon goes back-to-back-to-back

Faith Kipyegon is unstoppable. Before Saturday, no Kenyan athlete had won Olympic gold three times in a row over the same distance. Not only did the iconic runner set a new standard in the women’s 1,500m with her third straight gold medal, she did it in stunning fashion, setting a new Olympic record, weeks after setting a world record in the same city. After an initially slow start to her defense (she came 4th in her heat, ostensibly due to the controversy on her way to winning silver in the 5,000m), Kipyegon got back on track by winning her semi-final event, and she looked every bit the champion in the final as she stormed to 3:51.29 finishing time, just within two seconds of her world record no less.

Joshua Cheptegei completes long distance supremacy

Calling Joshua Cheptegei the greatest long distance runner of his generation is apt. He currently holds the world records for both the 5,000m and 10,000m, and has won world championship titles. The only thing missing prior to the Paris games was a gold medal in the 10,000m, a feat he achieved in historic fashion. The Ugandan long-distance runner broke Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old Olympic record, running a blistering 26:43.14, bettering the previous record by nearly 18 seconds. Additionally, Cheptegei has set a new standard as the Ugandan athlete with the most Olympic medals.

Beatrice Chebet’s phenomenal long distance double

It’s been a year of incredible highs for Beatrice Chebet. In May, the Kenyan runner set a new women’s 10,000m world record. Less than three months later, she has now done the long distance double, winning gold in both 5,000m and 10,000m. While a podium finish was expected in the latter distance, nobody really saw Chebet coming in the talent-packed field of the 5,000m finals. Staying within touching distance of the leading pact the entire time, Chebet entered sprint mode in the final 60m to outpace fellow Kenyan runner Kipyegon, who led the pack entering the last 100m and eventually won silver.

Similarly, in the 10,000m, Chebet pulled away in the final turn, turning on the jets for a final push in a generally much slower race than her world record time. She’s now the first Kenyan woman and third overall to do the long distance double at the Olympics.

Tatjana Smith bows out on a splendid high

Tatjana Smith fell out of love with swimming months before the Paris games. A double medallist at the Tokyo 2020 games, where she won gold in the women’s 200m breaststroke, Smith had already stamped her status as one of the finest swimmers ever out of South Africa. Eventually making the decision to compete in this year’s Olympics as her final hurrah, Smith became the first African athlete to win a gold medal in Paris. She won the women’s 100m breaststroke, the same event in which she picked up the silver medal in Tokyo. Few days later, she narrowly missed out on a historic Olympic gold double, winning silver in the 200m breaststroke. Smith is now the joint greatest Olympian in South African history, her four total medals equal Chad le Clos’ record-setting tally.

Soufiane El Bakkali defends 3,000m steeplechase gold

Since winning gold in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Soufiane El Bakkali has been a dominant force in the track event. At the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, he won gold, which made him the biggest favorite to win this year’s Olympics final. In defending his Olympic gold, El Bakkali was tested, but not by familiar competitors like Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma, who did not finish the race. Rather, it was American runner and eventual silver medal winner, Kenneth Rooks, who raced to the front of the pack in the final 400m, and it took a mammoth sprint in the final straightway for El Bakkali to slightly pull away and win gold in Paris.

Four years is a long time but El Bakkali, currently 28 years old, could be one of the few athletes to 3-peat in a single event when Los Angeles 2028 comes around.

Ethiopian(-born) athletes set the pace at the marathon

Going into this year’s Olympics, the iconic Kenyan long distance runner Eliud Kipchoge was aiming to win his third consecutive olympic gold medal in the men's marathon. While Kipchoge didn’t get to make history in the “shockingly hilly” race, a new marathon champion was crowned. Ethiopian runner Tamirat Tolabraved the hilly course to set a new Olympic record of two hours, six minutes and 26 seconds. Tola, a late substitute for Boston Marathon winner Sisay Lemma, broke out of the pack about an hour into the course and ended a 24-year Olympic marathon gold medal drought for Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian-born Dutch runner Sifan Hassan became the first woman to win Olympic gold in long distance races and the marathon. Hassan set a new women’s marathon Olympic record in Paris, running the course in two hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds. After doing the 5,000m and 10,000m gold double in Tokyo, as well as winning bronze in both distances at this year’s Olympics, Hassan’s marathon gold is an iconic feat for one of the most versatile runners ever.

More inspiring firsts

Cameroon-born boxer Cindy Ngamba became the first refugee ever athlete to win an Olympic medal, defeating French boxer Davina Michel in the quarter-finals of the women’s 75kg category to secure an automatic bronze medal. In similar fashion, Cape Verdean boxer Daniel Varela de Pina won automatic bronze, after upsetting African Games champion, Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba, in the quarter-finals. De Pina’s win is the first ever Olympic medal for Cape Verde.In football, Morocco won its first Olympic medal, routing North African neighbors Egypt in the bronze medal match. Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga ended his country’s 28-year Olympic medal drought, placing third and winning bronze in the men’s 400m final.

The inspiring outing of Nada Hafez and her “little Olympian one”

At the Olympics, as in professional sports in general, women’s bodies are put through intense scrutiny. Amidst the related, not-so-great news like Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat getting disqualified for being “a few grams overweight” and the wave of misinformation surrounding Khelif, it was nothing short of inspiring when Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez shared that she was seven months pregnant while competing in Paris.

Hafez, a former gymnast, upset American fencer Elizabeth Tartakovsky in the women’s individual sabre round of 32, before being ousted in the round of 16. She was ranked 16th in the event, her highest ranking yet at the Olympics, with this being her third outing.

“My baby & I had our fair share of challenges, be it both physical & emotional,” Hafez wrote on Instagram. “The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life & sports was nothing short of strenuous, however worth it. I’m writing this post to say that pride fills my being for securing my place in the round of 16.”

A round of applause for Nigerian women

Nigeria’s outing at the Olympics in Paris, which amounted to a grand total of zero medals, was greatly underwhelming — to put it mildly. It was another perfect reflection of the consistently shambolic nature of sports administration for a country that has now won three medals across the last four Olympic games.

In one of several notable situations that showed how inept management played a huge role in this not-so-great outing, Nigeria’s first ever Olympic cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye had to borrow a bike to compete in one of her events, and the sports minister indirectly blamed the athlete for qualifying on short notice. In the women’s hammer throw, silver medalist Annette Echikunwokeswitched allegiance to the U.S., after missing out on competing for Nigeria at the Tokyo Olympics due to gross administrative negligence.

The tiny rays of sunshine, however, were some of the women who competed bravely despite the odds. 110m Hurdles world record holder Tobi Amusan narrowly missed out on qualifying for the finals; sprinter Favour Ofili was milliseconds from a podium finish in 200m, after she wasn’t registered for 100m due to a horrendous administrative mishap; freestyle wrestler and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Blessing Oborududu lost her bronze medal match in Paris.