After more than two weeks of exciting sporting action, the Paris 2024 Olympics came to an end on Sunday with a colourful closing ceremony.
The Paris game also witnessed four countries win their first Olympic gold medals. Here are the four countries:
Saint Lucia: Julien Alfred – athletics – women’s 100m
Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred delivered a brilliant performance to win the women’s 100 metres gold medal with a national record timing of 10.72 seconds, beating USA’s world champion Sha’Carri Richardson into silver and breaking Jamaica’s recent stranglehold over the event.
Her margin of victory — 0.15 seconds — was the biggest in the Olympic 100m since 2008. None of the other finalists matched Alfred’s top speed of 41.04 kmph, with the fancied Richardson coming the closest (40.52kmph).
Alfred also went onto win silver in the women’s 200 metres.
Botswana: Letsile Tebogo – athletics – men’s 200m
Men’s 200-meter gold medalist, Letsile Tebogo, of Botswana, stands on the podium at the 2024 Summer Olympics. | Photo Credit: Bernat Armangue
Letsile Tebogo became the first African to win the men’s Olympic 200 metres title when he powered clear of American duo Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles to claim Botswana’s first Olympic gold medal.
Tebogo, who set a national record of 9.86 when finishing sixth in the Paris 100m final, produced a dominant last 50 metres and crossed the line in 19.46 seconds to become the fifth-fastest man in history over 200m.
Tebogo was also part of Botswana’s 4x400 relay team which secured silver in Paris.
Dominica: Thea LaFond – athletics – women’s triple jump
Dominica’s athlete and gold medallist Thea Lafond poses with her medal on stage at the Champions Park at Trocadero during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. | Photo Credit: JACK GUEZ
Thea LaFond made history for her Caribbean island nation of Dominica by winning gold in the Paris 2024 triple jump to claim the country’s first ever Olympic medal.
LaFond made herself the woman to beat with her second attempt of 15.02 metres - a world best this year - and that proved impossible to better, with rain also making conditions more treacherous.
Guatemala: Adriana Ruano Oliva – shooting – women’s trap
Adriana Ruano Oliva of Guatemala in action. | Photo Credit: REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
Guatemala’s Adriana Ruano Oliva won her country’s first ever gold medal after she won the women’s trap event at the Paris Olympics.
Oliva hit a Games record 45 of her 50 targets to win Guatemala’s first Olympic gold in any sport ahead of Stanco, who hit 40
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