On the way to London 2012!

Algeria

Did you know- On May 20, 1990, Algerian athlete Yasmina Azzizi set a new African record of 6,056 points in the women’s heptathlon. Along with Hassiba Boulmerka, Reda Abdenouz and Noureddine Morcelli, she was one of the most popular athletes in the North African nation, a former French colony until 1962.

Ivory Coast

Did you know- Handball, an Olympic sport since 1972, is one of the most popular sports in the Ivory Coast, a French-speaking nation in West Africa. In 1988, the women’s handball team, under the tutelage of coach Tokou Bleou, won the right to compete in the Olympic Handball Tournament in the Republic of Korea. The members of that team were Zomou Awa, Gouna Irie, Elizabeth Kovassi, Wandou Guehi, Hortense Konan, Emilie Djoman, Alimata Doumba, Julienne Vodoungbo, Doumbia Bah, Adjoua Nadri, Clementinea Ble, and Mahoula Kramo. Although the African champion had a difficult event, losing all five matches: Norway (34-14), USSR (32-11), China (37-12), Czechoslovakia (34-12) and the United States (27-16). The African continent has competed in the Olympic event since 1980 when the People’s Republic of the Congo sent handball players to the Soviet Union, host of the XXII Summer Games. On the other hand, in the 1990s, the Ivory Coast women’s handball team participated in three world events: 1995 (18th), 1997 (14th) and 1999 (20th).

Gambia

Did you know- The Gambia, a peaceful West African country, sent three athletes to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, USA. This English-speaking nation made its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles Games.

Guinea-Bissau

Did you know- On April 13, 1974, in Maputo, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau sprinter Binta Sané set a new national record of 13.4 seconds in the women’s 100 meters.

Madagascar

Did you know- The Madagascar women’s basketball team qualified for the FIBA ​​World Cup in Brazil in the early 1970s. In South America, the African winner Madagascar lost 120-39 to Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic).

Nigeria

Did you know- The Nigerian team ranked 11th at the Women’s Olympic Games Basketball Tournament in Athens, Greece in 2004. Over the course of the tournament, Nigeria beat South Korea 68-64.

Rwanda

Did you know- In 1988, the nation’s runner Marcianne Mukamurenzi, the most respected athlete (male or female) in Rwanda in the 1980s, set a new national record of 32: 19.11 in the women’s 10,000 meters. In that year, she ranked 38th in the women’s marathon at the Seoul Olympics. Miss Mukamurenzi lived in Bordeaux, France.

Somalia

Did you know- In November 1987, Somali athlete Hawa Abdullahi set a new Somali record of 13.23 seconds in the women’s 100 meters. Athletics, along with soccer, is one of the nation’s most popular sports, among the ten poorest nations in the world.