The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris have seen African teams performing strongly in various sports. After the first week of competition, African athletes are making a significant impact.
Men’s Soccer
Four African teams Egypt, Morocco, Guinea, and Mali qualified for the tournament. Morocco has been particularly impressive, advancing from a tough group that included Argentina, Ukraine, and Iraq. With star player Achraf Hakimi, Morocco topped their group and will face France in the quarterfinals. Egypt also performed well, winning against the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan, and will play against Spain in the knockout rounds. Although Guinea and Mali haven’t advanced far, their participation highlights the growth of African football.
Egypt 1-0 Uzbekistan: Egypt won with Ahmed Koka scoring the only goal.
France 1-0 Guinea: France won with a second-half header by Kiliann Sildillia.
Ukraine 2-1 Morocco: Ukraine came from behind to win, with goals by Dmytro Kryskiv and Ihor Krasnopir. Soufiane Rahimi scored for Morocco.
Japan 1-0 Mali: Japan’s Rihito Yamamoto scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon aims to make history by winning her third consecutive gold medal in the 1500m. Another athlete, Letsile Tebogo from Botswana, is excelling in sprints, having won silver and bronze medals in the 100m and 200m at last year’s World Championships. Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay, who recently won a stage at the Tour de France, is competing in both the time trial and road race events.
Wrestling and Other Sports
Nigeria’s Blessing Oborududu is striving to improve on her silver medal from Tokyo 2020 and win gold in wrestling. Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango, the world champion in the triple jump, aims to upgrade his previous bronze medal. In the new sport of breaking (breakdancing), Morocco’s Fatima Zahra El Mamouny is making history as the first African qualifier.
The early results are promising for African athletes at the 2024 Olympics. With several strong contenders for medals across different sports, Africa could achieve a record number of medals at these Games.
