2020 Tokyo Olympics: How African countries performed
The Olympics Games Tokyo 2020 came to a close on Sunday 8 August, and to climax it was a rich display of Japanese culture and honours for athletes at the closing ceremony.
With the likes of Team USA, China and Great Britain delivering on the medal table like they always do, we recap the top highlights from athletes from Africa who exhibited impressive performances at the 14-day event.
In the end, Kenya and Uganda emerged as the best African representatives, winning a combined six gold medals, with Kenya accounting for four of the haul.
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge defended his Olympic marathon title, becoming only the third man to win gold medals in back-to-back games while Faith Kipyegon from Kenya also retained her Olympic women’s 1500m title in emphatic style as she set a new Olympic record in Tokyo.
Burkina Faso won their first-ever Olympic medal, following Hugues-Fabrice Zango’s bronze-winning performance in the men’s triple jump while Ghana and Namibia ended their over two-decade medal drought.
Heroic display by Ruth Gbagbi in the Taekwondo, Women -67kg contest saw Côte d’Ivoire appear on the medal table. It was the athlete’s second consecutive bronze win after her bronze win at the 2016 edition hosted by Rio de Janeiro.
It wasn’t the best of performances from Team South Africa who ended their Olympics campaign with just three medals – their worst return since Beijing 2008 – despite taking their largest ever squad of athletes to an Olympics.
A total of 37 medals for the African continent from all events were won at the 2020 Tokyo games and below is how they were shared:
1. Kenya (10 medals)
Gold: 4 medals
- Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir, Track and field, Men’s 800 m
- Faith Kipyegon, Track and field, Women’s 1,500 m
- Peres Jepchirchir, Women’s marathon
- Eliud Kipchoge, Men’s marathon
Silver: 4 medals
- Helen Obiri, Track and field, Women’s 5,000 m
- Ferguson Rotich, Track and field, Men’s 800 m
- Brigid Kosgei, Women’s marathon
- Timothy Cheruiyot, Track and field, Men’s 1,500 m
Bronze: 2 medals
- Benjamin Kigen, Track and field, Men’s 3,000-m steeplechase
- Hyvin Kiyeng, Track and field, Women’s 3,000-m steeplechase
2. Uganda (4 medals)
Gold: 2 medals
- Peruth Chemutai, Track and field, Women’s 3,000-m steeplechase
- Joshua Cheptegei, Men’s 5,000 m
Silver: 1 medal
- Joshua Cheptegei, Track and field, Men’s 10,000 m
Bronze: 1 medal
- Jacob Kiplimo, Track and field, Men’s 10,000 m
3. South Africa (3 medals)
Gold: 1 medal
- Tatjana Schoenmaker, Swimming, Women’s 200-m breastroke
Silver: 2 medals
- Bianca Buitendag, Surfing, Women’s shortboard
- Tatjana Schoenmaker, Swimming, Women’s 100-m breastroke
4. Egypt (6 medals)
Gold: 1 medal
- Feryal Abdelaziz, Karate, Women’s +61kg
Silver: 1 medal
- Ahmed Elgendy, Modern pentathlon, Men’s event
Bronze: 4 medals
- Seif Eissa, Taekwondo, Men -80kg
- Hedaya Malak Wahba, Taekwondo, Women -67kg
- Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahim, Wrestling, Men’s Greco-roman 67kg
- Giana Lotfy, Karate, Women’s 61kg
5. Ethiopia (4 medals)
Gold: 1 medal
- Selemon Barega, Track and field, Men’s 10,000 m
Silver: 1 medal
- Lamecha Girma, Track and field, Men’s 3,000-m steeplechase
Bronze: 2 medals
- Gudaf Tsegay, Track and field, Women’s 5,000 m
- Letesenbet Gidey, Track and field, Women’s 10,000 m
6. Tunisia (2 medals)
Gold: 1 medal
- Ahmed Hafnaoui, Swimming, Men’s 400-m freestyle
Silver: 1 medal
- Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi, Taekwondo, Men -58kg
7. Morocco (1 medal)
Gold: 1 medal
- Soufiane Elbakkali, Track and field, Men’s 3,000-m steeplechase
8. Nigeria (2 medals)
Silver: 1 medal
- Blessing Oborududu, Wrestling, Women’s freestyle 68kg
Bronze: 1 medal
- Ese Brume, Track and field, women’s long jump
9. Namibia (1 medal)
Silver: 1 medal
- Christine Mboma, Track and field, Wome’s 200 m
10. Botswana (1 medal)
Bronze: 1 medal
- Team Botswana, Track and field, Men’s 4×400-m relay
10. Burkina Faso (1 medal)
Bronze: 1 medal
- Hugues Fabrice Zango, Track and field, Men’s triple jump
10. Côte d’Ivoire (1 medal)
Bronze: 1 medal
- Ruth Gbagbi, Taekwondo, Women -67kg
10. Ghana (1 medal)
Bronze: 1 medal
- Samuel Takyi, Boxing, Men’s featherweight (125 pounds)