Africa at the Olympics
Around 900 African athletes have arrived in Tokyo with the dream of taking gold and making history for their countries and the continent. But how did they get there?
Akani Simbine is gearing up to be the first African to take the 100m gold medal at this year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. “I just want to do my best and make history for my country and my continent” says the 27-year old South African runner who became Africa’s fastest man earlier this month. Millions across the globe will be watching the world's best athletes competing for the pride of their nations at the games which kick off today in Tokyo, Japan. Over the course of the games which will last for 2 weeks until the 8th of August, some may wonder how they can compete on sport’s biggest stage.
1000 other African athletes have arrived in Tokyo sharing Simbine's dream of taking gold and making history for their countries and the continent. Among them Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, also 27-years old, will be defending her reign as the 1500m Olympic Champion. But how did they get there? The dream of getting to the Olympics is not within reach for many of us. Outside of the discipline and athleticism of those who get there, there are rules and external factors that can present as obstacles.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) oversees the Olympic games, from deciding on the host city all the way to how many people compete and from where. The ever growing scale of the games requires the IOC to collaborate with the International Sports Federations (IFs) who are in charge of running sports and setting rules at the world level. The most well known is the International Association of Football Federation (FIFA) which oversees the game of soccer or football.
To end up like Simbine or Kipyegon and other track and field stars like Wayde van Niekerk, the current world and Olympic 400m record holder, you will have to rise above other athletes in your country and meet the qualifying times and distances set by World Athletics (previously known as International Association of Athletics Federations). To qualify for this year's 100m sprint, all you had to do was run under 11.15s if you are a woman or 10.05s if you are a man.
It's important to note that you must complete your run within the set qualifying window at qualifying events organised or recognised by World Athletics. This rule is the reason you won’t be seeing Olympic champion Caster Semenya at the Tokyo 2020 games after she failed to meet the qualifying time by 29 June 2021, the qualifying deadline for the 5000m race. Once you meet the qualifying time, you may find yourself among other runners from your country all just as fast if not faster than you. In this case, your National Olympic Committees (NOC) is tasked with picking a maximum of 3 entries per event. Should you be chosen, you are in the running to stand on the podium.
That said, time and distance standards are not the only obstacles to reaching the Olympic games. Caster Semenya will not be defending her 800m gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 games, while Namibian teens Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi are not eligible to participate in events from 400m to 600m as "the results from the testing centre indicated that both athletes have a naturally high testosterone level," the National Olympic Committee said in a statement. In order to compete, the runners would need to take testosterone reducing drugs - a controversial ask.
Despite these setbacks, many African athletes have beat the odds and are gearing for their shot at the Olympic medals. Be sure to keep your eye on Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango, who became the first man to jump over 18m in indoor triple jump. Outside of track and field, where Africans athletes have typically excelled, Deizy Nhaquile a 20-year old sailor from Mozambique will be making her Olympic debut, while Cheick Cissé who won Cote d'ivoire's first ever Olympic gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics will be looking to defend his position in the men's 80kg taekwondo event.
