WeeklySA_AdminPHENOMENON:Black athletes shine for newly adopted countries at Olympics, underscoring growing Africanisation of global sport
By Molefi Mika
Whether by design or some coincidence, America, Australia, including a number of other European and Asian countries, have been welcoming athletes of African origin seemingly in quest for possible future Olympics glory.
Some of these black athletes would have either come as refugees or with their parents while still young or quite mature looking for greener pastures, and thus welcomed to beef up the athletics teams of those countries. No doubt an unintended Africanising of global sport.
Results in some events at the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympics seemed to suggest that indeed the unannounced “Adopt African Athletes” strategy, let’s call it the “AAA-Strategy”, is reaping positive results. It also appears that some countries are now somehow subjecting the USA to a bitter cold gold medal draught in the men’s shorter sprints, notwithstanding the endless bullying by Jamaican women in the 100m at Olympics, if you will.
During the opening kilometers of the women’s marathon race last weekend, the leading bunch was dominated by African runners whom were actually representing countries like Israel for that matter – never mind those from, say, the ever-dominant Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, to name but these few.
We have also noticed that some of the European youth teams at FIFA tournaments are now dotted with black faces. Hopefully, this “gesture” is made with genuine intentions to fully embrace diversity – because racially denigrating window-dressing antics cannot be tolerated any longer.
Italy shocked the athletics world and made its own history by winning the 100m men’s dash, and added salt to the wound of the likes of America, Britain and Jamaica – as they did in the 4x100m relay race when snatching another gold medal, also their first-ever at the Olympics.
This was the case when the tall and hulky Lamont Marcell Jacobs (26), son of a Texan African-American army officer Marcell Jacobs senior and Italian native mother Viviana Masini, bulldozed his way in the sprints to the delight of other Azzuri athletes in attendance and fans back home. Lamont, who has not seen his father since he was a young lad, earlier opted to be with his mum in Italy, even though he recently has been communicating with his father, as advised by their athletics team psychologist.
Conceivably, it was his communication with his dad that him to dish out qualitative performances in Tokyo, he told the media that much, thereafter. The Italian relay team also boasted an athlete with Nigerian roots, Fostine Desalu.
Quoted from his Facebook account back in 2019, Desalu said: “I have never been to Nigeria and, right now, I don’t feel the need to go. I don’t even know the national anthem of Nigeria. My roots are in Africa and I don’t ignore them but I consider myself deeply Italian.”
Another example of the “AAA-Strategy” working was observed when two European countries indirectly benefitted from the African connection by collecting a silver medal and a bronze medal during the men’s marathon.
During the marathon races, Kenya’s superiority was evinced again as its athletes showed great keenness to customarily flash their heels at the faces of their opponents, that’s in both the women as well as the man’s categories. And, thus Peres Jepchirchir was followed home by Brigid Kosgei to snatch a gold and a silver medal for their country.
As those watching the men’s marathon thought another double medal win was about to happen for Kenya, this after defending champion Eliud Kipchoge having crossed the finishing line to snatch a gold medal unchallenged, a Netherlands runner and his Belgian training partner probably said no-ways to a possible one-and-two finish by Kenyans again as they plotted against the ultimate fourth-placed Lawrence Cherono. By the way, nothing amiss about this particular plot.
With the finish line about 50m away, Netherland’s silver medal winner Abdi Nageeye, a former refugee from Somalia, was seen sprinting past Cherono but soon slowed down to stealthily beckon his Belgian friend Bashir Abdi (sic) to increase his pace. Bashir, who is also Somalia-born, obliged and suddenly sped past a bemused Cherono to win his adopted country a bronze medal.
Qatar – FIFA World Cup 2022 finals hosts and one of the smallest yet very wealthy nations in the world due to their oil production – also paraded athletes of African origins and duly benefited at the Tokyo Olympics when scooping a bronze medal through a two-man team in beach volleyball.
This was the case when 26-year-olds Cherif Younousse formerly from Senegal and playing partner Gambian-born Ahmed Tijan added to the two gold medals won by fellow Olympians weight lifter Fares El-Bakh and the popular Mutaz Essa Barshin (high jump).
Qatar’s Olympics officials have trust in Younousse and Tijan when it comes to beach volley ball because they had returned home with a gold medal after the 2018 Asian Games.
Sifan Hassan, a 15-year-old Ethiopian refugee, who a while ago landed in the Netherlands with zero skills, yet embraced running to such an extent that she is now one of the national Dutch sports icons. Hassan, a serial world record breaker in recent times, went to the Tokyo Olympics with one mission – to chalk up gold medal wins in the 1,500m, 5,000m and the 10,000m.
But, it was not to be for Hassan (28) who, nevertheless, still became the first middle distance athlete, male or female, to win three medals in these events at the same Olympics. For the record she won gold in both the 5,000 and the 10,000m races and had to settle for a bronze in the 1,500m.
That Hassan’s net is estimated at between $1m and $5m, clearly urges other athletes of African origin if, not with the help of their handlers to be smart and seriously think about the future and invest their earnings.
Failure to do so could end up disastrously for these athlete – same as the fate of chewing gum which, when losing its sweetness, gets sadistically spit.
# Molefi Mika is author of two non-fiction books: Resilient Ntate Molemela and Dance Siwelele.
