Kenyan athletes were among the more than 10,000 sportsmen and women who participated in sailing across river Sein, in France, for the Olympics parade. The unique 3.5-mile parade, held on Friday 26th July, marks the official start of the 2024 Paris Games, which were awaited with bated breath.
The flag bearers for Team Kenya athletes were Ferdinand Omanyala and Malkia Striker’s captain, Triza Atuka. The Kenyan contingent of athletes and officials wore their red Maasai ceremonial kits.
There were drizzles of rain but the soggy weather did not dull the pomp and color of the ceremony of the Paris Olympics. The organizers had prepared well since it has been an unusually wet year for Paris.
Highlights of the Olympic Ceremony
- The Olympics were incidentally hosted in Paris a century after the city hosted its first Games.
- The ceremony was held out of its traditional venue, inside the stadium, where the almost 7,000 athletes used 80 boats to cruise the 6 km distance across the river.
- Music icons, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga put up a sterling performance at the Eiffel Tower. French-Malian singer, Aya Nakamura, delivered her world-renowned hit song “Djadja”.
- Football legend Zinedine Zidane and tennis star Rafael Nadal were among those who gave breathtaking performances.
- The ceremony took exactly 3 hours and 45 minutes, with French President Emmanuel Macron declaring the 2024 Olympic Games open.
- Olympic Games 2024 is being held under the motto ‘Games Wide Open’.
“I declare open the Games of Paris celebrating the 33rd Olympiad of the modern era,” said the French President, Macron.
Kenyan Team slow start at the Olympics
Rugby Sevens men’s kicked off before the opening ceremony in front of a crowd of 69,000 fans at Stade de France. Shujaa were knocked out on Thursday afternoon after losing 26-0 to Samoa. This was a very crucial Group B match played at the Stade de Paris.
Kenya needed a win to stand a chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals. This will be based on one of the best losers or else will now start packing their bags. The final and semis will be played on Saturday.
Today, 27th July, Kenyan Fencer, Alexandra Ndolo, lost by a slim margin of one point, to Kryvytska of Ukraine. She has bowed out at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after losing 12-13 in the round of 32.
Ridhwan Abubakar, a 400m freestyler, finished fourth in his heat clocking 4:05.14, ranking him 36th overall.
The 23-year-old qualified for the Olympics through Universality. Though now out of the competition, his spirited fight was a good show for the country after Kenya Aquatics faced a ban.
Kenya, with a team of 81 athletes, is competing in judo, swimming, rugby sevens men, fencing, and volleyball women and athletics which form a large squad of Kenya’s representatives.
