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WRC's most gruelling challenge, The Great Kenyan Experience.

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Rovanperä Triumphs in Dominant Safari Rally Victory

Kalle Rovanperä Maintains Commanding Lead as Safari Rally Nears Finale

Rovanperä Dominates Day Two of WRC Safari Rally

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President Ruto Rallies Kenyans to attend WRC Safari Rally

Meet the drivers.

Meet the Kenyan Drivers participating in the Safari Rally 2024

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Škoda Fabia R5

Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo

Ford Fiesta R5

Ford Fiesta Rally3

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Safari Rally Kenya 2024: Entry List + Itinerary

A total of 29 crews will be taking on 229 competitive miles of action in Kenya

Photography by Hyundai, M-Sport, Škoda & Red Bull / Jaanus Ree

Words by James Bowen

In partnership with ewrc-results.com

After a six-week break, the World Rally Championship finally returns for round three of its global adventure, as the series embarks on its first gravel rally of the year on Safari Rally Kenya.

What was already one of the toughest events on the calendar has been made even more challenging by the return of the Safari to its traditional spring calendar slot. That puts it right into Kenya’s heaviest rainy season, and could be the catalyst for plenty of drama on the stages this weekend.

Safari Rally Kenya promises an Easter weekend of epic entertainment, and here’s everything you need to know.

Rally Safari Kenya Entry List

Total 29 crews 9 Rally1 crews 14 Rally2 crews (13 WRC2) 1 Rally3 crew (1 WRC3) 5 Group N crews

Jourdan Serderidis increases M-Sport's lineup to three cars in Kenya

The top class field remains at nine cars for the second consecutive rally, but there’s one new face in the field compared to last time out in Sweden.

That face belongs to Greek privateer Jourdan Serderidis, who has reversed his decision to retire from the WRC’s top level after last year’s Acropolis Rally Greece and returns to the seat of an M-Sport Ford Puma this weekend.

He’ll join M-Sport regulars Adrien Fourmaux, fresh from his first WRC podium in Sweden, and Grégoire Munster in the Cumbrian squad’s three-car line-up.

After winning the opening two WRC events of 2024, Hyundai enters an identical line-up to the last event in Sweden, with points-leader Thierry Neuville and 2019 world champion Ott Tänak again joined by Esapekka Lappi, who’ll be on the hunt for back-to-back WRC victories.

Defending manufacturers’ champions Toyota will also field an unchanged squad, with reigning WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä making his second start of the year, alongside full-season duo Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta.

Kajetan Kajetanowicz has won the last two editions of Safari Rally Kenya in WRC2 and starts his 2024 season here

Five brands are represented across the 14 Rally2 crews in Kenya, in what should be a hotly contested battle for supremacy.

Rally Sweden WRC2 winner and joint-series points leader Oliver Solberg returns to Kenya in his Toksport Škoda Fabia RS, but this time will score WRC2 points, as will his team-mate Gus Greensmith, who will make his first start of the season on the Safari.

Defending Keyna class-winner Kajetan Kajetanowicz also makes his first start of the year in the latest generation Fabia, as does compatriot Daniel Chwist.

Frenchman and Hyundai customer Nicolas Ciamin heads the South Korean brand’s charge in Kenya, while Charles Munster, brother of Rally1 driver Grégoire, makes his WRC2 debut behind the wheel of another i20 N Rally2.

Junior WRC regular Diego Domínguez Jr. joins the WRC2 field in the sole Citroën C3 entered, while a host of African rallying stars will test themselves against the WRC2 regulars, including Kenya’s Carl Tundo in his Ford Fiesta R5, and Tanzania’s Yasin Nasser, who makes his WRC debut behind the wheel of a Fiesta Rally2.

Hamza Anwar was a regular competitor in the Junior WRC last year

Last year’s Junior African Rally champion Hamza Anwar is the sole WRC3 entrant, and the Kenyan will start his home WRC event for the fourth consecutive year driving a Ford Fiesta Rally3.

Safari Rally Kenya Itinerary

This year’s Safari Rally Kenya will cover 229 competitive miles (368 km), the longest edition since it returned to the WRC calendar in 2021.

The first of the rally’s 19 stages takes place on Thursday afternoon, with the Kasarani superspecial pitting drivers against each other across the jumps and bumps of this epic opening test just outside Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi.

Friday is the event’s first full day and will take the crews away from the service park to the rough roads around Lake Naivasha. The morning loop consists of three stages totaling 40 miles (64 km), repeated in the afternoon following a lunchtime service.

Saturday is the rally’s longest day, featuring six stages including the mammoth 22-mile (36 km) Sleeping Warrior test. After 100 miles (161 km) of grueling Saturday action, the first points of the weekend will be provisionally awarded.

Super Sunday comprises 46 miles (74 km) of action across six stages on the roads around Lake Elmenteita, with only a short 15-minute service to work on the cars after the third test of the day, Hell’s Gate. The rally concludes with the second running of the 7-mile (11 km) Hell’s Gate stage, which serves as the powerstage.

Michèle Mouton rewatches and reacts to her Acropolis win

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Safari Rally Kenya

29 – 31 March 2024

Watch Replay on Red Bull TV

Sunday highlights - Kenya

Sun, 31 March 2024

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FIA World Rally Championship

The fia world rally championship puts drivers against some of the toughest conditions on the planet..

The untamed terrain of Safari Rally Kenya offers drivers the ultimate test of endurance, including mud, rocks, fesh-fesh sand and challenging water crossings.

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WRC - Rovanperä secures commanding victory at Safari Rally, Greensmith wins WRC2

2024 Safari Rally Kenya - Sunday

• World Rally Championship
• SEASON 2024
• Safari Rally Kenya

Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen became two-time winners of Safari Rally Kenya on Sunday afternoon, ending the gruelling African fixture with a 1m 37.8s victory margin having led since Friday morning.

In by far the most gruelling FIA World Rally Championship round so far this season, it was Rovanperä’s meticulous balance of both speed and maturity that ultimately secured his 12th career victory.

The Finn, along with his navigator Halttunen, built a lead of almost one minute after winning all of Friday’s rock-strewn stages around Lake Naivasha, then kept his nose clean to end Saturday two minutes clear as the chasing pack ran into mechanical troubles and tyre damage.

That buffer allowed the two-time WRC champion to drive for a finish in Sunday’s final leg, which culminated amid stunning scenery at Hell's Gate with Kenyan President William Ruto in attendance.

Takamoto Katstuta completed a Toyota GR Yaris 1-2 as the Japanese marque extended its manufacturers’ championship lead to four points over Hyundai Motorsport, while M-Sport Ford Puma hotshot Adrien Fourmaux bagged his second consecutive podium 47.3s behind.

“It’s always special to win here,” Rovanperä beamed. “Also, a legendary event for Toyota. We’ve always been so good here and that’s continuing. Like they say in Africa: the car in front is always a Toyota!*

“A big thanks to the team, everybody made a big effort to make the car work so well. I think me and Jonne did a good job, I don’t think you can have a better Safari Rally than we did. No issues, clever driving and I think it was a good effort.”

Elfyn Evans ended Friday in contention for a podium but a fraught Saturday, which saw the Welshman stop twice to carry out stage-side wheel changes, meant he finished over four minutes back from his team-mate Rovanperä in fourth overall. He remains second in the drivers’ championship behind leader Thierry Neuville, who trailed him by almost six minutes in fifth.

Neuville now heads Evans by six points but endured a troublesome week aboard his Hyundai i20 N. Fuel pressure problems on Saturday cost the Belgian several minutes and suspension damage on Sunday, inflicted by a rock on the racing line, added insult to injury. His colleagues, Esapekka Lappi and Ott Tänak fared worse.

Lappi’s problems included two broken gearboxes over the course of the week while Tänak could only climb back to eighth overall after his car sustained broken suspension on Friday.

Greensmith’s determination bears fruit with Safari WRC2 triumph

In 9th overall, Gus Greensmith, co-driven by Jonas Andersson, got his WRC2 campaign off to the perfect start after winning the championship’s premier support category by 1m 23.1 in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for Toksport WRT.

The odds were stacked against the Briton early in the rally. He battled flu-like symptoms through Friday’s opening leg on rough gravel roads around Lake Naivasha but charged to a commanding lead of more than three minutes after his main rival Oliver Solberg haemorrhaged time with punctures.

Solberg fought back to finish second in his similar car, winning 11 of the rally’s 19 stages, but the deficit was ultimately too large to overcome. Greensmith was able to cruise through the closing kilometres, netting a mighty sixth-place overall result in the process.

Solberg posted the fastest time in the Wolf Power Stage, extending his lead in the championship while duly collecting the FORUM8 WRC2 Most Stage Wins Award. He finished more than seven minutes clear of third-placed Fabia man Kajetan Kajetanowicz, who also took the spoils in WRC2 Challenger.

Safari debutants Nicolas Ciamin and Charles Munster placed fourth and fifth respectively, both driving Hyundai i20 N Rally2 cars. Behind them was Daniel Chwist followed by local driver Carl Tundo, winner in the WRC Masters Cup contingent. As the sole finisher, Hamza Anwar secured maximum points in WRC3.

The WRC returns to asphalt for next month's Croatia Rally which takes place from 18 - 21 April. The event is based in capital city Zagreb.

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Tue 26 Mar 2024

LIVE STREAM SCHEDULE - Safari Rally Kenya

Get ready for the ultimate adventure as the FIA World Rally Championship touches down in Africa for the legendary Safari Rally Kenya, round three of the 2024 season. Stream every stage of the action live on Rally.TV

For last minute schedule changes, please check  Rally.TV .

Neuville hopeful Hyundai has addressed WRC Kenya reliability woes

T he Safari Rally, which hosts the third round of the WRC season this week, is renowned as a car-breaker thanks to its unique blend of rough terrain and changeable weather.

It has proven to be a bogey event for Hyundai since the event returned to the calendar in 2021, with its only podium finish to date achieved by Ott Tanak finishing third three years ago. The last two editions have seen Toyota score a 1-2-3-4 lock out while Hyundai battled mechanical issues.

Last year, Neuville suffered a suspension failure which ended hopes of victory as the Belgian recovered to finish eighth on the road, before officials excluded him from the event following a breach of recce rules.

Team-mate Esapekka Lappi was in podium contention but a trio of propshaft failures curtailed his rally, while Dani Sordo finished a distant fifth.

Hyundai has since addressed its reliability issues through a series of upgrades in the off-season, and has made a strong start to 2024, winning the opening two events in Monte Carlo (Neuville) and Sweden (Lappi).

Championship leader Neuville believes Hyundai will head to Africa stronger than in previous years.

“I think so,” Neuville told Autosport when asked if he thought Hyundai had resolved its reliability issues.

“We have constantly improved, however Kenya has been a tough event for us and for all of Hyundai over the past years, so hopefully the fourth time we go there we should be reliable enough.”

Thierry Neuville, Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

Neuville said Hyundai's pre-event test in Spain was productive, adding: “It wasn’t the greatest surface and conditions but at least we were running the car at altitude, so it was interesting to also work on those parameters of the car.”

This year’s Safari Rally reverts to a more traditional Easter date instead of the June berth that the event held since its return in 2021.

As a result, the rally will take place during Kenya’s rainy season which increases the likelihood of changeable weather. To help combat the possibility of heavy rain, Rally1 cars will be able to fit snorkel devices following a change in regulations.

When asked about the possibility of extreme weather, Neuville responded: “We expect it to be hot but wet. It could be less rough, but it could be more of a lottery due to the weather.

“If there is a lot of rain definitely, [snorkels will be crucial].”

Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul added: “Safari Rally Kenya is a historically challenging event for us. The unique conditions increase the potential for cars to succumb to technical issues caused by the surroundings, meaning we have to focus on being robust and reliable first and foremost.

“We have made a strong start to the season so we must go to Kenya with belief in ourselves. It is the first gravel event of the 2024 season, making it somewhat a testing ground for the 2024 iteration of our car.

“Our performance last year showed promise, so we are hoping to take it one step further and leave Kenya with a podium finish as a minimum.”

August: A cold, deadly month in Kenya’s history

Nairobi in August. [Photo/Citizen Digital]

The month of August has largely brought pain – and tears – of national proportion. The impact has been felt across the country – with some of these tragedies leaving behind ripples that have continued to be felt many years later.

However, even the cold cannot take the minds of Kenyans from the fact that this is the month that takes and takes. 

It is for this reason that Kenyans have christened it Kenya’s darkest month.  This is not to say that other months have not had their gloom.

August 22, 1978:  Kenya's first president, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, dies in Mombasa. His death plunges the country into mourning. Jomo died aged 81 years. He was president for 14 years, from 1964 to 1978.

August 1, 1982: A group of Kenya Air Force officers attempt to overthrow the Government of then President Daniel Moi. The coup leaves over 100 soldiers and 200 civilians dead. A lot of property worth billions of shillings is destroyed. The coup plotters, led by Hezekiah Ochuka were later sent to the gallows on the night of 10 July 1985 at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. They were the last people to have been executed under the Kenyan law.

August 14, 1990: Anglian Bishop Alexander Muge, a distinguished critic of the Kanu Government, dies in a road accident. Muge, born in 1948, was returning from a crusade in Busia when he was involved in an accident. His death shook the country. Many believe that his death was not ordinary.

August 14, 1992: Former Assistant Minister and renowned multi-party activist Masinde Muliro, collapses and dies at the airport in Nairobi. He had just landed from abroad and had just gone through the immigration clearance. Masinde was then the Vice Chairman of the Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD) – an opposition outfit.

August 7, 1998:  Kenya suffers a terrorist attack. The Friday attack occurs right outside the American Embassy in Nairobi capital -- just around mid-day. The attack leaves over 200 people dead – and over 5000 injured.

August 23, 2003: Then Kenya’s Vice-President Kijana Wamalwa dies at the Royal Free Hospital in England. His death comes just two months after his wedding. The country is in morning.

August 22, 2012: The cold hands of death took away politician Martin Shikuku. The former Butere MP was known by the Monika 'The people’s watchman'.  

Want to send us a story? SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp 0743570000 or Submit on Citizen Digital or email [email protected]

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Here's what Olympic events are being held on Sunday, the last day of competition in Paris

The u.s. will go for gold sunday in women's volleyball and basketball, by nbc new york staff • published august 10, 2024 • updated on august 10, 2024 at 10:51 am.

Before the Closing Ceremony takes place on Sunday in Paris, a number of medal events will happen to finish out the 2024 Olympics.

Sunday, August 11 is Day at the Paris Olympics and the final day of competition.

While there are definitely few events than most other days, there are still fourteen medal events to watch.

24/7 New York news stream: Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are

The United States will have some big medal chances on Sunday, including the men's water polo bronze medal match against Hungary, the women's volleyball gold medal match against Italy, and the women's basketball gold medal match against home country France.

How to watch Olympics competition on Sunday

Here's a look at all the Olympics events on Sunday and how to watch:

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Africa Is a Country

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On our annual publishing break, we ask: if the opposite of “weird” is normal, what if normal is equally problematic?

A performer descends during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Credit David Goldman for AP Photo.

In the 2024 US presidential race, “weird” has become the Democratic party’s go-to adjective to disparage the policies and worldview of their opponents, the Republicans. It was Minnesota governor-turned-VP-pick Tom Walz who first summoned the term to describe GOP candidate Donald Trump and his VP pick JD Vance. “These are weird people on the other side, they want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room, that’s what it comes down to,” Walz declared. “Don’t get sugarcoating this, these are weird ideas.”

But setting aside the peculiarities of the American right, who can sincerely survey the world today and conclude that it is anything but weird? With no signs of a ceasefire in sight, Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 40,000, with more than half of the dead estimated to be women and children. At a rally in Michigan, pro-Palestine demonstrators tried to disrupt Democrat nominee Kamala Harris’ speech with chanting, to which she sharply replied, “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.” What’s weirder than a cool and indifferent response to a group of people drawing attention to what future textbooks will surely remember as one of the twenty-first century’s greatest horrors?

Any person you talk to today will confidently tell you something to the effect of: the world has gone upside-down, it’s topsy turvy, it’s mad. And yet, no one means the same thing when they say that. The rioters in England and Northern Ireland probably felt their crusade to “take [our] country back” fell on the side of sensible. Those denigrating Imane Khelif cast her as biologically strange and unfit for Olympic competition. In South Africa, the entry of a South African with mixed parentage into a beauty contest set off a nationwide moral panic, resulting in the contestant’s ultimate withdrawal. In other words, where we’re at politically is that whatever common normative frameworks that once anchored public life have irrevocably broken down.

It’s questionable whether they were even there to begin with. Certainly, the West has been exposed for how all its talk of a “rules-based international order,” belies a policy of “rules for thee but not for me (and my friends).” If the moral and political legitimacy of Western powers is eroding, does that mean we should cast our lot somewhere else ? In some corners of the internet, there does seem to be enthusiasm for the consolidation of an anti-Western bloc supposedly led by Russia, China, and Iran. As AIAC contributor Zachary Mampilly recently wrote in The Drift :

Juntas in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have withdrawn from West Africa’s primary economic bloc, framing the decision in a joint statement as a rejection of “the influence of foreign powers” in “the spirit of pan-Africanism.” Whether this is the pan-Africanism of Thomas Sankara, the anti-imperialist former president of Burkina Faso whose memory is regularly invoked by coup leaders, remains to be seen. In general, the vision of a unified Africa has been distorted over time, as enfeebled national leaders continue to espouse notions of continental unity while largely capitulating to desires for foreign capital. Today, African populations are forced to accept the consequences of foreign powers’ race for resources on their continent, and suffer displacement, violence, and the effects of climate change.

At Africa Is a Country , we have been less interested in what rulers think we should do to confront the challenges of our historical moment and more in what the ruled are doing. We have been particularly focused on the unprecedented social mobilizations in Kenya. Thanks to our East Africa regional editor, Wangui Kimari, we have benefitted from insightful pieces detailing not only the significance of the protests but grappling with their long-brewing structural causes (and after joining us as a Nairobi-based contributing editor, Onesmus Karanja has produced striking video commentary giving us direct access to the lives and worlds of ordinary Kenyans). While the continent grapples with its legacy of French colonialism, our Francophone regional editor, Shamira Ibrhaim, has directed our attention to long-ignored discontent in places like Martinique and Cameroon. The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests have their origins in the disastrous social and economic policies of Bola Tinubu in particular and the Nigerian elite in general, and Sa’eed Husaini has brought in an excellent roster of writers historicizing the widespread disaffection before it finally exploded.

From Algiers, football journalist Maher Mezahi has kept us abreast of the latest in continental sport through the “African Five-A-Side” podcast, creating original video content, as well as crafting timely essays—his latest on the Olympics is worth keeping in mind as the global spectacle reaches its business end. From South Africa, Khanya Mtshali has continued to write stellar pieces of cultural criticism in a year when South Africa marked thirty years of democracy and held an election that shook the fundamentals of its self-concept. Through his excellent profiles of African filmmakers (alongside his regular film criticism), Tsogo Kupa has given us a window into how our predecessors faced the dilemmas of the postcolonial condition. In many senses, it’s a case of “nothing new under the sun.”

This is an indictment on us all. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Today’s social dislocations arise in part because we have still not found answers to the basic demands of our human consciousness: how to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and love the stranger. This rudimentary concept of social solidarity is becoming increasingly unintelligible. The global right feeds off of the corresponding despair this produces, doubling down on an ethic of “every person for themselves.”

On our annual publishing break, we want to seriously consider what it would take to undermine this script. Today’s political economy of knowledge is modeled on the reproduction of the idea that things can’t really change, and the future will merely be a slightly modified version of the present. Fredric Jameson once remarked, leading Mark Fisher to coin the term “capitalist realism”––“it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” Now, it is easier to imagine the end of the world and the end of capitalism. It is much harder to imagine anything else.

But that hasn’t stopped the thousands in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Sudan, and Palestine from demanding something different. If we have any role to play at Africa Is a Country, it’s to help sharpen our ability to imagine different, to imagine better. This is what the opposite of “weird” should be—because if normal is shorthand for the “status quo,” it is just as problematic and just as weird.

Further Reading

Rolling with the punches

• Maher Mezahi

Removed from the facts, the firestorm around Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is the latest attempt by the right-wing in the West to find fodder for its culture war.

Pretty girl from Soweto

• Fezokuhle Mthonti
• Ayanda Charlie

In South Africa, a popular beauty contest is revealing the specter of ultranationalism and anti-blackness.

Kenya’s third liberation movement

It’s no longer just about the finance bill. Kenyans want fundamental change.

A tragic kind of hope

• Lilly Havstad

Nigerian and South Sudanese filmmakers give voice to the search for identity, stability, and belonging through the lens of youth and migration.

The Paris Olympic track and field slate delivered in epic fashion.

Crowds of 70,000-plus packed Stade de France for nearly two weeks straight. Those fans were treated to Olympic and world records crumbling nearly every nightly. They dissected multiple photo finishes, followed legends of the sport, and welcomed in top up-and-comers. That crowd served as a major storyline of these Olympics.

"The crowd is super engaged," U.S. women's 400m hurdles silver medalist Anna Cockrell said. "The crowd is just bursting with energy, and I was feeding on it."

The hordes in Paris loved it, now it's time for you to relive it. Here's the story of track and field at the Paris Olympic Games.

FULL REPLAYS: TRACK AND FIELD RESULTS: TRACK AND FIELD

Medal table

After mixed results at the Tokyo Games, the U.S. owned the track and field slate in Paris. Americans combined to earn 34 total medals, the most by the U.S. in track and field since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Americans also swept all four hurdle events for the first time in history, and U.S. men earned a medal in nine of 10 individual track events.

World and Olympic records

Mclaughlin-levrone, duplantis smash their own world records.

American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own women's 400m hurdles world record for an astonishing sixth time (50.37 seconds), and Swedish star Mondo Duplantis set a new men's pole vault mark (6.25 meters) for a ninth time.

Those record-breaking marks served as defining moments of these Olympic Games, and they came on behalf of stars we'll watch for years to come: McLaughlin-Levrone just turned 25, and Duplantis is 24.

"The biggest dream since I was a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics," Duplantis said.

It’s one of those things that don’t really feel real, such an out-of-body experience.

On the track, McLaughlin-Levrone's new world mark also clinched her second consecutive Olympic women's 400m hurdles title.

“I'm grateful to God for this opportunity, grateful to be celebrating my 25th birthday like this," McLaughlin-Levrone said after her record-breaking moment. "Just a super opportunity, you can’t even imagine."

Lyles tops men's 100m, falls short in 200m

In a photo finish now seared into Olympic history, Noah Lyles backed up his talk: he's the world's fastest man in the 100m.

In the Paris Olympic men's 100m final, Lyles edged past Jamaican Kishane Thompson to win his first Olympic gold medal in a lifetime-best 9.784 seconds. Lyles crossed the finish line just five thousandths of a second ahead of Thompson, who posted a time of 9.789. The result wasn't clear until nearly 30 seconds after the end of the race, as the competitors waited nervously for the details of their photo finish.

When the result finally flashed on the Stade de France videoboard, Lyles' eyes bulged. He screamed jubilantly. He was a gold medalist. Thompson took silver, and American Fred Kerley claimed bronze, Kerley's second career Olympic medal in the 100m.

Lyles became the first American man to win 100m gold since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Games.

“It’s been a rollercoaster," Lyles said moments after winning gold. "In the 100m, it’s my first time here on the Olympic stage. You only need one. As long as that’s the last one, that’s all that matters.”

The Paris final was the tightest 100m final in global racing history — not just at the Olympics, but anywhere. When the race began, Lyles was actually in last place after 40 meters. He roared back but still trailed Thompson by .01 seconds after 90 meters. But the new Olympic champion drew from his reserves to launch himself forward in his final stride.

History for Saint Lucia, Botswana in major races

By winning two of the Paris Olympics' signature races, Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred and Botswana's Letsile Tebogo clinched historic firsts for their nations.

In a race hyped up as Lyles' quest for the 100m-200m double, it was the 21-year-old  Tebogo pulling off one of the shockers of the Olympics in the men’s 200m final. Tebogo claimed gold with an electrifying victory in 19.46 seconds. Thanks to Tebogo, Botswana won its first-ever Olympic gold medal.

"It was really a beautiful race for me," Tebogo said.

It means a lot to the African continent because now they see Africa as a sprinting home, so we just had to make sure that the message is loud and clear.

Days earlier, the 23-year-old Alfred claimed the first-ever Olympic medal in Saint Lucia's history with a commanding win in the women's 100m final. Alfred erupted down the soaking Stade de France track in 10.72 seconds to claim victory in the final, finishing 0.15 seconds ahead of reigning world champion Sha'Carri Richardson , who took silver in 10.87 seconds for her first Olympic medal.

Continuing the history for smaller nations, triple jump gold medalist Thea LaFond secured the first-ever Olympic medal for the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. With a population of just over 72,000, Dominica is the smallest nation to collect an Olympic medal in Paris.

Ryan Crouser in a class of his own

It's become a quadrennial tradition to say it: Ryan Crouser won shot put Olympic gold.

Already among the all-time great Olympians, Crouser entered a category of his own with a title in Paris. The 31-year-old American is the first shot putter ever — man or woman — to win three gold medals.

“Throwing a 16-pound ball as far as you can for a living beats you up," Crouser said. "Three golds is a testament to that, to be the first to win three golds."

Faith Kipyegon: Legend status

In Paris, Kenyan legend  Faith Kipyegon  elevated her status to the top-tier of all-time greats.

She became the first woman in history to win the 1500m Olympic final three times. On top of it, the 30-year-old legend set a new Olympic record with her time of 3:51.29, winning by over a full second. She joined a trio of track icons — Paavo Nurmi , Usain Bolt and now Kipyegon — as the only athletes in Olympic history to win an individual track race at three Olympic Games.

"I knew the Olympic record was going to go down," Kipyegon said. "All the women were very strong, everybody was in good shape and everybody was going for this gold medal.

This is what was in my mind, just execute and just defend the title.

First gold medals for American stars

The U.S. dominated the track and field medal podium, and it featured a slew of first-time gold medalists.

Cole Hocker (men's 1500m), Grant Holloway (men's 110m hurdles), Gabby Thomas (women's 200m), Tara Davis-Woodhall (women's long jump), Noah Lyles (men's 100m), Rai Benjamin (men's 400m hurdles), Masai Russell (women's 100m hurdles), Quincy Hall (men's 400m) all claimed their first Olympic gold medals, at last topping medal podiums.

The U.S. women's 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams, plus the men's 4x400m relay, all took home gold, meaning first-time golds for Sha'Carri Richardson , Twanisha "TeeTee" Terry , Melissa Jefferson , Shamier Little , Alexis Holmes and Chris Bailey .

"I'm really in disbelief because having an Olympic gold medal is something in my wildest dreams," Thomas said after her 200m victory. "But at the same time I know how hard I’ve fought for it. This has been six years in the making, head down, working hard.

This is the happiest moment of my life.

For the U.S., these individual gold medals included a resurgence of American success in men's sprints. At the Tokyo Games, the U.S. took home zero individual men's sprint golds for the first time in the nation's Olympic history. In Paris, the U.S. collected four, courtesy of Benjamin, Lyles, Hall and Holloway.

And while it wasn't a sprint event, Hocker's record-breaking men's 1500m victory served as one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the Games. Hocker was in fifth place entering the bell lap. But the 23-year-old from Indianapolis took the inside lane and blazed down the home stretch to sprint by Tokyo Olympic champion and presumptive favorite  Jakob Ingebrigtsen , reigning world champion  Josh Kerr  and U.S. teammate  Yared Nuguse  to claim the Olympic title. With a time of 3:27.65, he set an Olympic record in the process. " Hocker's Shocker " became a reality thanks to a devastating final kick, in which Nuguse took home bronze for the U.S.

Like Nuguse, Grant Fisher leaves Paris with bronze — but Fisher has two. The Michigan native is the first American man in history to complete a distance double of any type, collecting bronze medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m finals. After his second bronze, Fisher said, "My legs are completely toast now, but it feels really, really good."

Sifan Hassan completes 'crazy' challenge, collects three medals

Sifan Hassan just wanted to finish.

“It's my crazy thing,” she said. "I just want to complete it. I’m very curious. Could I podium? Could I even complete? Am I strong enough?”

Hassan, 31, had been full of questions all week in Paris.

It’s no wonder — what she attempted at the Paris Olympics is a bit crazy, to use her language. In Olympic history, only Emil Zátopek of Czechia has earned a medal in the Games’ three longest races: the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon.

She wanted to finish. She won.

In an Olympic record time of 2:22.55, Hassan won gold in the women’s marathon on Sunday. She came to Paris with a stomach-turning “crazy” plan, and she'll head home with three Paris Olympic medals — and a record to top it off.

“I have so many emotions," Hassan said moments after her marathon victory. "I was scared of this race.

I was never more focused in my life, until that moment. For two hours, I was focused every step. 

In Paris, Hassan collected marathon gold, 5,000m bronze and 10,000m bronze. In Tokyo, she won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m, plus a bronze in the 1500m. It's a lot to keep track of, but put it all together, and she is the first athlete in history with Olympic medals across those four races. Hassan is her own category now.

“I feel like I am dreaming," Hassan said. "I only see people on the TV who are Olympic champions. The marathon is something else, you know. When you do 42 kilometers in more than two hours and 20 minutes, then every single step you feel so hard and so painful."

Hassan’s time just edged the previous Olympic record, set by Ethiopia’s Tiki Gelana at the 2012 London Games in 2:23.07.

In the field: Records fall, U.S. prevails

Two Olympic records and one world record ( thanks, Mondo ) fell in the field events.

Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan hurled a javelin throw 92.97 meters down the Stade de France inner circle, breaking a 16-year-old Olympic mark and earning him his first Olympic medal, a gold. Nadeem became the first Pakistani in history to qualify for the final of any Olympic track and field event, and he will soon return to his country with a gold medal.

In the men's discus, Jamaican Roke Stona set a new Olympic record with a toss of 70.00m on his way to men's discus gold in Paris. The medal gave Jamaica its first Olympic men's discus gold in history. The 25-year-old Stona, also a former SEC discus champion from the University of Arkansas, is coached by the legendary Crouser.

Joining those newcomers in making history was Belgium’s  Nafi Thiam , who has claimed her third consecutive heptathlon Olympic gold medal in Paris. With her victory, the 29-year-old became the first woman to win three Olympic titles in the event. U.S. legend  Jackie Joyner-Kersee  won back-to-back golds in 1988 and 1992 (and bronze in 1996) — now Thiam stands alone with three golds.

As on the track, the field medal podiums were full of U.S. flags. Davis-Woodhall and Crouser were joined by fellow medalists Valarie Allman (women's discus gold), Katie Moon (women's pole vault silver), Shelby McEwen (men's high jump silver), Annette Echikunwoke (women's hammer silver) and Jasmine Moore (women's long jump and triple jump bronze). Moore became the first U.S. woman to compete both events at the Olympics, let alone earn a medal in both.

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