The spectacular opening ceremony on Friday 23 July 2021 marked the start of the much delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The games went ahead despite: the on-going Covid pandemic which affected some athletes and officials in the days leading up to the ceremony; the lack of support from the Japanese public which compelled sponsors such as Toyota to cancel their ads despite spending $3 billion on the games; and, the lack of spectators after they were barred by organisers when Tokyo declared a state of emergency. Only 950 delegates and journalists were in attendance at the main Olympic venue which has a capacity of 68,000.
In true Olympic spirit and casting aside the cloud of negativity surrounding the games, the athletes marched into the Tokyo Olympic stadium for the opening ceremony proudly waving their national flags at the empty seats, knowing that billions of people were cheering them on virtually from every corner of the world. Such is the universal appeal of the most diverse and inclusive game in sports. For the athletes, the night was the culmination of years of training in the pursuit of Olympic glory and the satisfaction of knowing that it had not been in vain - the show must go on.
Africa got off to a winning start in the fashion stakes. ONGOLO's top 10 picks for team uniform were (in alphabetical order): Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Kenya, Liberia and Mauritania.
Africa is well represented in Tokyo by all 54 countries. Guinea had pulled out citing Covid-19 concerns - though media reports suggested that this may have been due to financial constraints - before doing a last minute U-turn and attending the ceremony.
The largest squads are from South Africa (183), Egypt (142), Kenya (85), Nigeria (63) and Tunisia (63). The smallest squads include the husband-and-wife team from Lesotho and 2-3 person teams from Central African Republic, Comoros and Republic of Congo.
Africa is looking to do better than the 2016 Rio Olympics where the continent bagged a total of 45 medals: 10 gold, 18 silver and 17 bronze medals.
The 2016 performance was an improvement from the 2012 London Olympics where countries bagged 40 medals. However, the number of gold medals was higher than 2016 (13).
The hunt for medals at the Tokyo Olympics got off to a brilliant start with Tunisia bagging Africa's first two medals in the first two days of the month long games. The 18 year-old swimming sensation Ahmed Hafnaoui won the 400m freestyle race on day 2 beating the favourites from Australia (Jack McLoughlin) and the United States (Kieran Smith). The shock win came three years ealier than Hafnaoui's own prediction that he would win his first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics where he will now be a defending champion rather than contender.
Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi had the honour of winning Africa's first Olympic medal. Jendoubi won a Silver medal in the Taekwondo 58kg category after beating Ethiopia's Solomon Demse to advance to the finals.
Well done, Tunisia!
Eliud Kipchoge
Age: 36
Country: Kenya
Sport: Long distance runner. 5000m.
Olympic track record: 2016 Gold medallist, 2008 Bronze medallist. Did not qualify for London 2012
Other championships: London Marathon winner (2015-19 except 2017). Berlin Marathon winner (2015-2018 except 2016).
Fun facts: Kipchoge has been called the greatest marathon runner of the modern era. He holds the world record of 2:01:39 and run 1:59:40 in Vienna in 2019 but this was not recognised
Faith Kipyegon
Age: 27
Country: Kenya
Sport: Middle distance runner. 1500m
Olympic track record: 2016 Gold medallist, finished 21st at London 2012
Other championships: Silver medallist at the 2019 World Championships, Gold medallist at the 2017 World Championships, Silver medallist at the 2015 World Championships
Fun facts: Named one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2017
Wayde Van Niekerk
Age: 29
Country: South Africa
Sport: Sprinter. 200m and 400m
Olympic track record: 2016 Gold medallist in 400m
Other championships: Gold medallist at the 2017 and 2015 World Championships in London and Beijing, respectively
Fun facts: First men in history to run 100m under 10 seconds, 200m under 20 seconds and 400m under 44 seconds
Hellen Obiri
Age: 31
Country: Kenya
Sport: Long distance runner. 3000m and 5000m
Olympic track record: 2016 Silver medallist in 5000m, finished 12th in 2012
Other championships: 5000m Gold medallist at the 2019 and 2017 World Championships
Fun facts: Named one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2017
Nigel Amos
Age: 27
Country: Botswana
Sport: Middle distance runner. 800m
Olympic track record: 2012 Silver medallist. Failed to qualify for the semi-finals in 2016.
Other championships: Gold medallist at the 2016 and 2018 African Championships
Fun facts: Amos' Silver medal in 2012 was Botswana's first and only medal
Inès Boubakri
Age: 32
Country: Tunisia
Sport: Fencing
Olympic track record: 2016 Bronze medallist
Other championships: 2018 Bronze medallist at the World Championships
Fun fact: Boubakri is married to French fencer Erewann Le Péchoux who also won a medal at the 2016 Olympics
Joshua Cheptegei
Age: 24
Country: Uganda
Sport: Long distance runner. 5000m and 10000m
Olympic track record: Finished 6th in the 10000m and 8th in the 5000m in 2016
Other championships: Gold medallist at the 2019 and 2017 World Championships
Fun fact: In 2020, he became the 10th men in history to hold both the 5000m and 1000m world records
Tatjana Schoenmaker
Age: 24
Country: South Africa
Sport: Swimming. 100m and 200m breaststroke
Olympic track record: None. Did not qualify in 2016
Other championships: Gold medallist in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
Fun fact: she is currently the fastest breaststroke swimmer this year
Hugues Fabrice Zango
Age: 28
Country: Burkina Faso
Sport: Triple jump
Olympic track record: Finished in 34th place in 2016
Other championships: Bronze medallist at the 2019 World Championships
Fun facts: Set the World indoor triple jump world record of 18.07m in 2021
Marie-Josée Ta Lou
Age: 32
Country: Cote d'Ivoire
Sport: Sprinter. 100m and 200m
Olympic track record: Finished 4th in both the 100m and 200m in 2016
Other championships: Bronze medallist in 100m at the 2019 World championships. Silver medallist in 100m and 200m at the 2017 World Championships
Fun facts: she studied medicine at the Université d'Abobo-Adjamé in Abidjan
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