Jeux de la Francophonie 2023

[Olympian1010 8,297]

Gbai  and Kone  both ran under the Olympic standard in the women’s 200m @Josh @JoshMartini007

[Adriano 836]

4 hours ago, Olympian1010 said:

Novac  threw 84.75m in the men’s javelin, which smashed the Games Record set by Aukasz Grzeszczuk  in 2013 (78.62m). He was less than a meter off the Olympic standard 

 

@rybak @Monzanator you guys should practice up on your French and enter in 2027 

I know French hahaha, I am curious we can come back to this event or not. I watched this polish edition

[Olympian1010 8,297]

Catching up on the final events from this weekend…

 

African wrestling was a lively affair. The men’s team final between  and  was arguably one of the best moments of the Games.  was pretty dominant as usual, though four other countries won gold medals as well. I would like to see this sport included in the African Games and World Combat Games. There needs to be more respect for traditional sports in the Olympic Movement.

[Olympian1010 8,297]

We’ve seen a lot half-full, or even closer to empty, venues this cycle. It’s been refreshing to see the locals show up in huge numbers for such a “unknown” multi-sport games. I mean…just look at the crowd for the gold medal match in women’s basketball.

 

[Olympian1010 8,297]

 finished on top of the medal table. They were just too strong in athletics.  claimed a deserved second. It was nice see them entered in most competitions after the withdrawal of many of the non-African nations.  round out the top five.

[Olympian1010 8,297]

Overall, a nice edition of the Games. It seemed like the locals got into it, at least a little bit. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but it seems they did okay in the end. Their athletes performed about as well as could be expected, if not better. The broadcast coverage was nice, but I still prefer full sessions to the integrated feed.

 

I don’t believe a host has been selected for 2027. Personally, I’d hate to see this event disappear from the calendar. I like the mix of artistic and sports competitions. Plus, I don’t get to see  v. ,  v. , or  v.  with multi-sport games gold medals on the line very often 

[Olympian1010 8,297]

@Sindo I’d love to hear what the Games were like in-person when you get the chance.

[Sindo 1,827]

On 8/7/2023 at 3:23 AM, Olympian1010 said:

@Sindo I’d love to hear what the Games were like in-person when you get the chance.

It was a very nice experience, in a country I would have probably never visited for tourism. I have met some very welcoming people, of course we have had a lot of limitations and could not leave the hotel alone. I have worked at the Women's Basketball tournaments, and in some other venues in the days Basketball did not play (two days in Athletics, one day in Table tennis).

 

The Basketball stadium was brand new and not yet completely ready when I arrived in Kinshasa. The first match (ROU vs LBN) was in a completely empty stadium, and I feared that would have been the case for most of the matches during the tournament, but it was not like that. After the first day, there were more and more people in the Basketball stadium, and it was completely full in the latest days. The people on the stands were very noisy and the athmosphere was great, not only for matches.

 

Fans inside and outside the stadium were always asking for selfies and pictures, I think I have had more photos in these two weeks than in the rest of my life I think they are not used to see white people, and probably some of them thought I was an athlete (we had a similar accredition pass around our neck).

I also have some videos from the Basketball venues, I will try to upload them in the next days.

 

 

 

 

[vinipereira 3,513]

12 hours ago, Sindo said:

It was a very nice experience, in a country I would have probably never visited for tourism. I have met some very welcoming people, of course we have had a lot of limitations and could not leave the hotel alone. I have worked at the Women's Basketball tournaments, and in some other venues in the days Basketball did not play (two days in Athletics, one day in Table tennis).

Seems like it was a great experience! I wish someday I could visit countries outside of the typical tourism destinations.