The fastest African athletes to watch at the Paris Olympics
Ethiopia and Kenya are known for their dominance in long-distance running and aim to put their mark on other track and field events.
A look at five runners from Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.
Originally published on Global Voices
100 m final men at the World Championships Athletics DOHA 2019. Image by filip bossuyt on Flickr (CC BY 4.0 ).
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, commencing on July 26, will draw the best athletes from across the globe. Unlike in the Winter Olympics, Africa will be well-represented among the competitors.
As noted by Okay Africa, East African nations Ethiopia and Kenya are known for their dominance in long-distance running. This year, both nations aim to secure gold medals and global bragging rights. Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Botswana, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana are also poised to make their mark at the Paris Olympics, as they all qualified across multiple relay events and sports.
Let's explore five of the fastest African athletes who are set to make waves and potentially raise their country’s flags at this year's Games.
Ferdinand Omanyala: Africa’s fastest man
Despite Kenya's long-distance dominance, Ferdinand Omanyala, who earned the title of Africa’s fastest man in 2021, is going to the Paris Olympics set on proving that the East African country is also the home of the fastest African sprinters.
Omanyala's journey to the top of the sprinting world is nothing short of inspirational. With a personal best of 9.77 seconds in the 100 meters, he has shattered African records and made a significant impact on the international scene.
Omanyala's meteoric rise began when he switched from rugby to athletics, a move that has evidently paid off. His commitment and intense training have thrust him into the limelight, earning him a spot in the Netflix documentary Sprint: The World’s Fastest Humans. The film highlights Omanyala's achievements and places him alongside notable athletes such as U.S. Olympic and world champion Noah Lyles, Italian Olympic champion Lamont Marcel Jacobs, and the legendary Jamaican world record holder Usain Bolt.
Earlier this year, Omanyala told Sports Eye, “I want to change everything about sprints in this country. Not that we don’t have the talent. The talent is there because we are very good at rugby. The only thing that we did not have is that strong mentality that ‘you can do this.’ That’s the ceiling that was hindering so many people from doing it.”
Omanyala’s performance at the African Athletic Championships and Commonwealth Games has solidified his status as a top contender for the Paris Olympics. As the Games approach, all eyes will be on Omanyala to see if he can dethrone the world's best and bring home the gold.
Akani Simbine: South Africa’s sprint star
According to Durban-based radio station, Gagasi FM, South African sprinter Akani Simbine has been the undisputed king of African sprinting for the last decade. He has consistently ranked among the world’s best in the 100 meters. Simbine placed fifth in the men's 100 meters at the 2016 Summer Olympics and held the African record for the 100 meters with a time of 9.84 seconds set in July 2021, until it was broken by Ferdinand Omanyala in September 2021.
Simbine has an impressive list of accolades, including being a finalist in the men's 100 meters at the World Championships in 2017 (fifth place) and 2019 (fourth place). He won the 100 meters at the 2018 African Championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In the 4 × 100 meters relay, he helped South Africa win at the African Championships in 2016 and 2018 and secured second place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with a South African record time of 38.24 seconds. He also anchored South Africa to gold at the 2021 World Relays.
Simbine's recent performances have shown that he is peaking at the right time. Running a season’s best of 9.93 seconds ahead of the Olympics, he has positioned himself as a strong contender for a medal in Paris. His explosive speed out of the blocks and his ability to maintain top-end speed make him a thrilling athlete to watch.
Faith Kipyegon: The middle-distance queen
Faith Kipyegon is another Kenyan powerhouse renowned for her dominance in middle-distance events. She recently broke her own world record in the women's 1,500 meters at the Paris Diamond League, clocking 3:49.04. Kipyegon is aiming to become a three-time consecutive Olympic gold medalist in her favorite distance.
Kipyegon, 30, is set to defend her 1,500-meters Olympic title in Paris after qualifying to run both the 1,500-meters and 5,000-meters races at the Kenya Olympic trials in June. At the Rio De Janeiro Olympics in 2016 and the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (held in 2021), she took home gold. Her recent performances highlight her exceptional skills and determination, and she showed her gratitude in an Instagram post: “”I am so happy to break the world record over my favorite distance again. Thank you everyone for the support and thank you Paris. I can’t wait to come back to defend my Olympic title!”
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Kipyegon has also become a symbol of inspiration for women athletes, balancing her career with motherhood after giving birth to her daughter, Alyn, in 2018. “I wanted to motivate young mothers, so that they can go on maternity leave and return to work,” she told Citizen TV.
Eliud Kipchoge: The marathon legend
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, continues to push the boundaries of human endurance. He is the Olympic marathon champion for both 2016 and 2020 and held the marathon world record from 2018 to 2023 with a time of 2:01:09 set at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. This record was surpassed by Kelvin Kiptum at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, who finished with a time of 2:00:35. Additionally, he has recorded four of the ten fastest marathon times in history.
The two-time Olympic marathon champion will also be looking to win his third gold medal in Paris.
Kipchoge took to Instagram to express his excitement ahead of the Games, saying, “I always say the Olympic dream is a special dream. The Olympic Games is what we all dream of as little kids starting out with our sport and is what motivates us the most today. I am beyond proud to be selected for the Kenyan team for the 5th time in my life. After winning the marathon gold medal in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, my focus will now be on Paris!”
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(@kipchogeeliud)Joshua Cheptegei: Africa's long-distance dynamo
Joshua Cheptegei, a Ugandan long-distance runner, currently holds the world records for the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters as well as the world's best time for the 15 kilometers distance. In 2020, he became the first person to run the 5 kilometers distance in under 13 minutes, setting the world record for this distance at 12:51.
Besides being the current Olympic champion in the 5,000 meters, Cheptegei has also won the world championship three times in the 10,000 meters. He is only the tenth man in history to simultaneously hold the world records for both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, both of which he set in 2020. He also won gold medals in these distances at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
Cheptegei’s performances at the World Championships and the Diamond League have distinguished him from his peers. As he heads to the Paris Olympics, he aims to add more Olympic gold to his list of achievements. His strategic racing and powerful finishing kick make him a formidable competitor in any distance event.
As the world tunes in to watch these athletes compete, they will undoubtedly inspire millions and potentially etch their names in the annals of Olympic history.