The Mzansi athletics team scored big in Accra, Ghana, during the African Athletics Championships. South Africa dominated in the medal standings, winning four golds, two silvers, and four bronzes, tallying a total of 10 medals.
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On X, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie celebrated the team with a tweet showing the medal standing, writing, “African Athletics Championship, GHANA 2026.”
African Athletics Championship, GHANA 2026 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦❤️ pic.twitter.com/4GDPQEtJiO
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) May 18, 2026
The South African team prevailed even though the conditions were not the best, with one South African athlete, Aiden Smith, complaining, “At the dining hall, we were told we couldn’t take more than one portion, either chicken or fish, not both. As athletes, we need to eat properly and recover, but there were constant limits even when we asked for more.
“In the morning, they would give us half an egg or just one egg. No toilet paper, no warm water. We also had no blankets in our rooms, which made the conditions even worse for athletes at a major championship.”
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Some users on X reacted to how poorly disordered the games were, with one user tweeting, “ This senior African Athletics Championship in Ghana is so poorly organised. Unstable/poor broadcast, finishing times unavailable, unable to follow the competition schedule, empty stadiums, dry competition. With the frenzy we saw in Botswana for the World Relays two weeks ago, this is just so bland and uninteresting.”
This Senior African Athletics Championship in Ghana is so poorly organized. Unstable/poor broadcast, finishing times unavailable, unable to follow competition schedule, empty stadiums, dry competition.
With the frenzy we saw in Botswana for the World Relays two weeks ago, this…
— Nathaniel Godwin 🇳🇬🇺🇸 (@Naplaymaker) May 13, 2026
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Feature Image: Gettys
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