African athletes excel at the Paris 2024 Olympics, from artistic gymnastics to fencing

Among the many medal moments at these Olympic Games Paris 2024, there have been plenty for Africa.

The continent’s first medal of Paris 2024 came on day one in rugby sevens, when South Africa took men’s bronze with their victory over Australia at the Stade de France.

One of the most emotional victories so far came in the artistic gymnastics competition, where even among star names like USA's Simone Biles and Brazil's Rebeca Andrade an athlete from Africa stood out, bringing to the continent an historic gold medal.

Kaylia Nemour of Algeria (pictured above) 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, competing at what would be her final Olympic Games. 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.

Africa also won two medals 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. As of 6 August, both medals are their nations’ only ones so far.

African teams have also shown their strength on the global stage.

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

Last but not least, Africa’s Olympic success also includes South Sudan’s men’s basketball team, which made their Olympic debut at Paris 2024. Not only that, but 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 at the Games.