Tokyo 2020, Africa Recap: RSA Earns 2 Medals, Tunisia Wins 3rd Pool Medal Ever

2020 TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

• When: Pool swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
  • Open Water swimming: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, 2021
• Where: Olympic Aquatics Centre / Tokyo, Japan
• Heats: 7 PM / Semifinals & Finals: 10:30 AM (Local time)
• Full aquatics schedule
• SwimSwam Event Previews
• Entry Lists
• Live Results

Day 8 Finals Recap

The continent of Africa wrapped a historic week in Tokyo. At the end of the week, South Africa picked up two Olympic medals, which were also the first women’s medals since 2000 as well as their first female Olympic champion since 1996. In the same way, Tunisia is celebrating their third Olympic swimming medal ever, gold.

South African Tatjana Schoenmaker represented her nation and the continent well, first swimming an African/South African record in the 100 breast at 1:04.82 before earning Olympic silver and then winning Olympic gold in the 200 breast, breaking every record in the book at 2:18.95.

The lone men’s African Olympic medalist was 18-year-old Tunisian Ahmed Hafnaoui, who took a surprise Olympic gold medal in the men’s 400 free final. Hafaoui put up a time of 3:43.36, which held off Aussie Jack McLoughlin and American Kieran Smith by four-tenths of a second. Comparing Hafnaoui to the historical U.S. 17-18 age group rankings, he would have set the NAG record by three seconds.

On a different note, London 2012 Olympic champion and multi-time London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic medalist Chad le Clos of South Africa placed 5th in the men’s 200 fly final and missed semifinals of the men’s 100 fly.

A total of 35 African national records were broken, including 3 African continental records and one World/Olympic record.

Tokyo 2020 SWIMMING MEDAL TABLE — AFRICA

AFRICAN CONTINENTAL & NATIONAL RECORDS AT TOKYO 2020

• Men’s 100 Breast: Sudan – Abobakr Abass, 1:04.46
• Women’s 100 Breast: Africa/South Africa, – Tatjana Schoenmaker, 1:04.82
• Women’s 100 Breast: Mauritius – Alicia Kok Shun, 1:15.42
• Women’s 100 Breast: Cape Verdean – Jayla Pina, 1:16.96
• Men’s 100 Free: Zimbabwe — Peter Wetzlar, 50.31
• Women’s 800 Free Relay: Africa/South Africa — Canny/Meder/Coetzee/Gallagher, 8:01.56
• Women’s 100 Free: Nigeria — Abiola Ogunbanwo, 59.35
• Women’s 200 Breast: World/Africa/South Africa — Tatjana Schoenmaker, 2:18.95
• Men’s 100 Fly: Egypt — Youssef Ramadan, 51.67
• Men’s 100 Fly: Ghana — Abeiku Jackson, 53.39
• Men’s 100 Fly: Senegal — Steven Aimable, 53.64
• Men’s 100 Fly: Angola — Salvador Gordo, 55.96
• Men’s 50 Free: Malawi — Filipe Gomes, 24.00
• Men’s 50 Free: Niger — Alassane Seydou, 24.75
• Men’s 50 Free: Benin — Marc Dansou, 24.99
• Men’s 50 Free: Burkina Faso — Adama Ouedraogo, 25.22
• Men’s 50 Free: Rwanda — Eloi Maniraguha, 25.38
• Men’s 50 Free: Togo — Mawupemon Otogbe, 25.68
• Men’s 50 Free: Guinea — Mamadou Bah, 26.52
• Men’s 50 Free: Ethiopa — Abdelmalik Muktar, 26.65
• Men’s 50 Free: Cameroon — Charly Ndjoume, 27.22
• Men’s 50 Free: Gabon — Langlad de Girard, 27.66
• Men’s 50 Free: Equatorial Guinea — Diosdado Miko Eyanga, 31.03
• Women’s 50 Free: South Africa — Emma Chelius, 24.65
• Women’s 50 Free: Cameroon — Norah Milanesi, 26.41
• Women’s 50 Free: Uganda — Kirabo Namutebi, 26.63
• Women’s 50 Free: Ghana — Unilez Takyi, 27.85
• Women’s 50 Free: Burundi — Angelika Ouedraogo, 28.38
• Women’s 50 Free: Benin — Nafissath Radji, 29.99
• Women’s 50 Free: Swaziland — Robyn Young, 30.41
• Women’s 50 Free: Rwanda — Alphonsine Agahozo, 30.50
• Women’s 50 Free: Sierra Leone — Tity Dumbuya, 31.56
• Women’s 50 Free: Central African Republic — Chloe Sauvourel, 32.18
• Women’s 50 Free: Gabon — Aya Girard de Langlade, 32.24
• Women’s 50 Free: Burundi — Odrina Kaze, 33.39

ALL TOKYO 2020, AFRICA RECAPS — By Day

• TOKYO 2020, AFRICA DAY 1: HAFNAOUI MAKES HISTORY WITH UPSET 400 FREE GOLD

• TOKYO 2020, AFRICA DAY 2: NO CAP, NO PROBLEM FOR TATJANA SCHOENMAKER

• TOKYO 2020, AFRICA DAY 3: SCHOENMAKER WINS FIRST WOMEN’S RSA MEDAL SINCE 2000

• TOKYO 2020, AFRICA DAY 4: CHAD LE CLOS MISSES OLYMPIC 200 FLY PODIUM AGAIN

• TOKYO 2020, AFRICA DAY 5: SCHOENMAKER/CORBETT QUALIFY INTO 200 BR OLY FINAL

• TOKYO 2020, AFRICA DAY 6: SCHOENMAKER 1ST RSA FEMALE OLYMPIC CHAMP SINCE 1996

• TOKYO 2020, AFRICA DAY 7: CHELIUS MAKES 50 FR SEMIS, BREAKS 4TH RSA RECORD