Modest harvest for Africa at Tokyo Paralympic Games

Five years ago, during the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Africa approached the symbolic bar of 100 medals. This year in Tokyo, she painfully counted 63 charms, including 21 in gold. A total distributed among ten countries, led by Algeria (12), Tunisia and Morocco (11), and Nigeria (10). But if the results are obviously less positive than in 2016, the African continent has still made an impression, thanks to the performances of some of its athletes, especially in athletics and weightlifting.

This is particularly the case of Raoua Tlili and Walid Klita, who allowed Tunisia to win its four gold medals. Tlili, arguably the best shot and discus thrower in the world, won both events. The Tunisian, whose positions are rarely trivial, had castigated a few months before the Paralympic Games the situation of disabled sports in her country, and in particular the lack of structures and supervision for disabled people wishing to practice a sporting activity.

Klita meanwhile settled on the top step of the podium after his victories in the 800m and 1,500m. The Tunisian record, completed with five silver and four bronze medals, owes a lot to the performances of its representatives in athletics, since all the medals were obtained in this discipline. This is also the case for Algeria, over 400 m (Skander Athmani), or in the shot put (Safia Djelal and Asmahan Boudjadar). With one exception, with the gold medal of judokate Cherine Abdellaoui in the 52 kg category.

Athletics also allowed Morocco, which had set a goal of 10 medals, to exceed this threshold very slightly. But unlike Algeria and Tunisia, very mixed in the sharing of gold, it is the men who signed the best performances of Morocco, with Abdeslam Hili and Ayoub Sadni (400 m), Zakariae Derhem (launch weight) and El-Amin Chentouf (marathon). The Moroccan athletes still brought their share with four medals, including two in silver thanks to Youssra Karim (discus throw) and Fouzia El-Kassioui (shot put).

No gold for Egypt

Egypt, unlike other North African countries, has failed to install one of its representatives on the top step of the podium. Including in volleyball, where the men’s national team, yet considered one of the favorites, had to settle for fifth place. But she won five silver and two bronze, almost all in weightlifting. It is also this discipline which allowed Nigeria to win 8 of its 10 medals, including 4 in gold. All the titles have also been captured by women: Latifat Tijani, Bose Omolayo, Foloshade Oluwafemiayo and Flora Ugwunwa. The most unexpected medal of the Nigerian delegation is undoubtedly that of the male pair Alabi Olufemi-Tajudeen Agunbiade, third in table tennis.

On the other hand, we expected a little better from South Africa, which had left Rio with 17 medals, including 7 gold. In Tokyo, the country had to settle for seven podiums. Only Anrune Weyers (400m) for women, Ntando Mahlungu (200m and long jump) and Nicolas Pieter du Preez (road cycling) have gleaned a Paralympic title. Louzanne Coetzee, even if she failed to imitate her compatriots, nevertheless made a major contribution to the South African harvest, winning silver in the 1,500m and bronze in the marathon.

Kenya also, another great sporting nation, did not do as well as in Rio, where its athletes had won six medals, half of which were gold. This year, only Nancy Chelangat Koech, third in 1,500 m, has avoided a total fiasco in the country.

Ethiopia is, along with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa and Nigeria, the sixth country to have won at least one gold medal. He owes it to Tigsit Gezahagn Menigstu, who won the women’s 1,500m. Namibia (one silver and one bronze) and Uganda, which has the same record as its neighbor Kenyan, are the other countries to appear in the final table, largely dominated by China (207 medals, including 96 in gold), Great Britain (124) and the United States (104).