The world has a tradition of keeping records when it comes to great achievers. In the world of sports, Africa has produced some of the greatest names you can easily relate with.
We have had basic information about great African sportsmen around the world who have proven to be some kind of extra-ordinary human beings . Here is a list of some of the extra-ordinary sports men who are Africans.
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily
Known for his commitment and motive towards ensuring peace returns to his native Ivory Coast as he was part of a Truth and Reconciliation Committee that ensured the bloody ten year war was stopped in the West African country.
The player is also known for his physical strength, ball retaining skills and long distance goal. At 21, the player started his professional football career at French club Le Mans. On the field of play proper,
Drogba is iconic and revered wherever he plays, football fans can testify to that. The former Chelsea star donated all the 3 million pounds he got from an advert deal to build a hospital in his country. Drogba is really the son of the soil!
Oscar Pistorius
Born on the 22 November 1986 is a South African sprint runner and convicted murderer. Both of Pistorius’ legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. He was the tenth athlete to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games , competing in sprint events for below-knee amputees in Paralympic events, and in non-disabled sprint events.
No one would ever belive that its ever possible for a disabled athlete to compete in the same sport with able bodied individuals and just in case the question comes up you would get a massive No for an answer.
Well, he did it in the 2012 London Olympics and which has officially become history. Pistorius is an amazing story of how to make the best in situations others may see as irreparable. The South African has a double amputation, yet he is still able to run with the aid of a carbon fibre prosthetics called Cheetah Flex~Foot. He holds the record in the 100m, 200m and 400m sport class T44.
Samaul Et’o
Eto’o is 4-time African Footballer Of The Year, all-time leading goal scorer in the Africa Cup Of Nations and Olympic gold medalist. Samuel Eto’o is undoubtedly the most decorated footballer from the mother continent, one of the best sports man ever from the African continent, the Cameroonian international has won just about everything there is to be won in world club football.
Samuel Peters
Born on the 6 of september 1980, the Nigerian-American professional boxer who held the WBC heavyweight title in 2008. He rose to prominence in his early career following a string of knockout wins, at a time when the titles of the heavyweight division were largely fragmented.
In March 2008, Peter won a portion of the world heavyweight championship by knocking out Oleg Maskaev to win the WBC title. In October, in what would be his only defense of the title, Peter lost to a returning Vitali Klitschko , who stopped him in eight rounds. Peter is known for his rivalry with the Klitschko brothers , having faced Wladimir twice (in 2005 and 2010) and Vitali once.
The boxer has put Africa on the map in recent times in a sport where many Africans have not really made much impact in the heavyweight category.
Montsho Amantle
If there was ever a case study for the statement, “if at the first you don’t succeed, dust yourself up and try again,’ then Botswana sprinter Montsho is one of the best you can get. She didn’t always have a smooth ride in her career. She admits she’s a slow starter and that is quite obvious judging from some of her early races.
Despite representing her country in the last 2 Olympics in 2004 and 2008, Montsho had a miserable showing at the 1AAF World Athletics meet in 2009 finishing in fifth place. Just before that, she didn’t even make the cut for the 2005 and 2007 editions. But, the Botswana sprinter kept her head up and with determination, finally achieved a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games~~ the first person from her country to do so.
She trains in Senegal but said recently: “I think I would run better if I ate food from Botswana.” Really patriotic, don’t you think?
