Paris 2024: Champions Of The African Continent.

African athletes have captivated audiences with their extraordinary performances, showcasing a blend of speed, strength, and unyielding spirit. Among the many medal moments at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, there have been plenty for Africa. 12 African teams made it to the medals table, with the African continent winning a total of 38 medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Kenya led the continent with four gold, two silver and five bronze making a total of 11 medals, to finish in 17th place. Other African countries which made the medals table include Algeria with  two gold and one bronze for a total of three, South Africa is third with 1 gold medal, and Ethiopia completes the top four, also having 1 gold medal with fewer silver medals.

Africa's  first medal of Paris 2024 came on the very first day, in the men's rugby sevens, when South Africa took the bronze medal after defeating Australia at the Stade de France.

Kenya's smiling assassin, Beatrice Chebet took gold in both the 5000m and 10,000m events, while Kipyegon claimed gold in the women's 1500m.

Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi won gold in the men's 800 metres final on the penultimate evening of the Olympics on Saturday. Wanyonyi claimed a personal best 1:41.19 ahead of world champion Marco Arop of Canada with the bronze going to Algeria's Djamel Sedjati. He becomes the youngest athlete to win 800m Olympic gold medal.

South Africa also claimed two silver medals, one in the men's 4x100m relay and another in women's javelin, courtesy of Jo-Ane van Dyk

Kaylia Nemour of Algeria became Olympic champion on the uneven bars, the first Algerian and African gymnast to ever win an Olympic medal.

Another standout African Olympic champion was South Africa’s Tatjana Smith. The 27-year-old swimmer from Pretoria won gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke, then three days later added a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke.

Egypt and Tunisia equally got a share of the Olympic cake. They won two medals respectively in fencing: Mahmoud Elsayad of Egypt won bronze in the men’s epee individual while Fares Ferjani won silver for Tunisia in the men’s sabre individual.

Tamirat Tola secured the only gold medal for Ethiopia by winning the men's marathon in 2:06:26, breaking the world record set by Kenyan Samuel Kamau Wanjiru in 2008.

Additionally, Ethiopian athletes earned three silver medals: Berihu Aregawi in the men's 10,000m, Tsige Duguma in the women's 800m, and Tigst Assefa, who finished second in the women's marathon.

Ahmed Elgendy claimed gold in modern pentathlon, while Sara Ahmed excelled in weightlifting, earning a silver medal in the -81kg category.

Tunisia equally made a notable mark in taekwondo with Firas Katoussi winning a gold medal in the -80kg category and Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi securing bronze in the -58kg category.

Uganda got two significant medals. Joshua Cheptegei, a three-time world champion in the 10,000 meters, once again delivered and secured a medal in his favorite event. The second medal for Uganda was won by Peruth Chemutai, who earned silver in the women's 3,000 meters steeplechase.

Letsile Tebogo claimed gold in the 200m, finishing ahead of Americans Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles, making him the first African to be crowned Olympic champion in this event. Tebogo also contributed to Botswana's achievement of a second medal, as the country secured silver in the men's 4 x 400 m relay.

Morocco left the Paris 2024 Games with two medals. One is a gold in athletics won by Soufiane El Bakkali in the men's 3,000m steeplechase, and the other is a bronze in football after beating Egypt 6-0. This marks the first Olympic medal in the history of the Moroccan national team.

Cape Verde's sole medal came from boxer David de Pina, who finished third in the -51 kg category.

Thanks to Muzala Samukonga, Zambia took third place in the men's 400 meters, while Ivory Coast earned a bronze in Taekwondo thanks to Cheick Sallah Cissé in the +80 kg category.

African teams also demonstrated their strength on the global stage at the Paris 2024 Games.

The Nigeria women's basketball team, D'Tigress, put up a spectacular performance at the Olympics, becoming the first African basketball team to play in the quarter-finals at the Olympic Games, after defeating giants like Canada and Australia. They equally made a mark as the first ever African team to win two games for the first time at the Olympics. Their coach, Rena Wakama was awarded Best Coach at Paris 2024 in the women's Basketball tournament.

In football, the men’s bronze-medal match is an all-African affair between Morocco and Egypt, guaranteeing Morocco their first Olympic medal in the history of Olympic football.

We all saw the outstanding performance of South Sudan’s men’s basketball team, which made their Olympic debut at Paris 2024; not only that, they won their first ever game by defeating Puerto Rico 90-79 on 28 July.

Many medals remain to be won, and there will surely be more for the African continent come USA 2028.

Kudos to our African Champions!