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Pasha 119: Talking about Africa and the Olympics

It’s safe to say that the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo this year was an unconventional event. The impact the pandemic had on the athletes has been complex and felt differently across countries and individuals.

So how did African athletes fare in these difficult conditions?

Overall, not too well on the medals chart. There were some impressive performances but the Olympics did not yield many moments for participants from African countries to savour.

In today’s episode of Pasha, Kamilla Swart, an associate professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, looks at how well African participants have done at the Games. She also discusses how hosting of the Games needs a fairer geographical spread.


Photo:
“Tatjana Schoenmaker of Republic of South Africa shows the gold medal after winning, with a new world record, the women 200m Breaststroke final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.” By Giorgio Scala/BSR found on Agency/Getty Images

Music: “Happy African Village” by John Bartmann, found on FreeMusicArchive.org licensed under CC0 1.

“"One Night In Africa” by John Bartmann, found on Free Music Archive licensed under under a Attribution-ShareAlike License.

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