Cindy Ngamba, a 25-year-old openly lesbian boxer from Cameroon who fled to the UK at age 11 due to anti-LGBT laws, became the first representative of the IOC's Refugee Olympic Team to win a medal (bronze) at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the women's middleweight category.
Ngamba secured the bronze by defeating French boxer Davina Michel in the quarterfinals and is set to face Panamanian boxer Atheyna Bylon for a shot at the gold medal in the semifinals.
Ngamba aims to be the first refugee to win a gold medal, bringing about change and hope for displaced individuals worldwide, especially athletes facing struggles and self-doubt.
She has been openly declaring her homosexuality since age 18 (which is illegal in her home country) and proudly carried the flag for the Refugee Olympic Team.
Ngamba has lived in England for 15 years but is still waiting for citizenship.
Her bronze medal in Paris 2024 marks the first podium finish for the Refugee Olympic Team, introduced at Rio 2016 to allow persecuted athletes to compete internationally,.
The Refugee Olympic Team's growth to 37 athletes, the largest since its inception in 2016, reflects the escalating global displacement crisis. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi praised Ngamba's achievement and encouraged her to aim for gold.
Noah Lyles of the US won the closest 100m race in modern Olympic history by just five-thousandths of a second, ending a two-decade drought for the US in Olympic sprinting. He described himself as the rightful successor to Usain Bolt.
Novak Djokovic added an Olympic gold medal to his collection of achievements.
Two world records were broken in swimming: Bobby Finke from the US broke the 1,500m freestyle world record, and the US women set a new world record in the 4x100m medley relay. Sarah Sjoestroem won the 50-100m freestyle double on the final day of the competition.
Former Olympic badminton champion Carolina Marin withdrew from her semi-final due to a knee injury. The mixed triathlon relay went ahead despite pollution concerns in the River Seine, while Belgian triathlete Claire Michel fell sick after competing in the individual triathlon.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: The Guardian, Agência Brasil, Yahoo, La Nación, Viața Liberă, La Opinión, beIN Sports, Anadolu Agency, Shenja, RNZ, The New York Times, BBC, Associated Press, Firstpost, U.S. News & World Report.