Paris Olympic Games saw several stories being unfolded at the biggest sporting spectacle. Top athletes around the world gave it their all to fight for medals in the recently concluded Olympics. While several nations like the USA and China continued to stamp their authority in the medals table, some countries opened their medal account for the first time ever in Paris.
Four countries have won their first-ever Olympic medals in Paris. Here we discuss the athletes who brought laurels to those countries.
Saint Lucia: Saint Lucia opened its medal account at the Olympics with sprinter Julien Alfred winning a gold medal in the women's 100m race and then a silver medal in the 200m event. Alfred pipped favourite Sha'Carri Richardson of the United States to win the gold medal in the 100m race and become the fastest woman on the planet.
Cape Verde: Cape Verde also clinched its first medal at the Paris Olympics. Boxer David de Pina clinched a bronze medal in the men's 51kg event at the 2024 Olympics. India's Amit Panghal also fought in the same category but the two pugilists did not meet at the Games. He reached the semifinals but could not progress further.
Albania: Wrestler Chermen Valiev brought the first medal for Albania at the Olympics. The grappler bagged a bronze in the men’s 74kg freestyle. He lost his quarterfinal bout to Uzbekistan's Razambek Zhamalov but got a chance via repechage as his opponent reached the final. Valiev defeated Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau in his repechage and then got the better of Viktor Rassadin in the bronze medal bout to win and secure a podium finish.
Dominica: Thea LaFond brought the first Olympic medal for Dominica in the women's triple jump event in a stunning way. LaFond defeated the strong athlete field in the final with an attempt of 15.02m, which was the best attempt in the world in 2024. The target became difficult for the rest of the athletes and as rain picked up, none of them could manage to breach the mark.
