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Ebony, Oct, 1996 by Kevin Chappell

It was the awakening of the African giant During the 16 days of Olympic competition in Atlanta, African athletes shocked the world by taking home more than 30 medals, 11 of those gold and many coming in sports historically dominated by countries outside of the Diaspora.

African athletes became one of the biggest stories of the Summer Games, winning eight gold medals in track and field, two in swimming and one in soccer. Their history-making performances come on the heels of similar success in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where African athletes brought home a record seven gold medals.

Perhaps the most celebrated winner on the African continent was South African Josia Thugwane, a gold mine security guard who mined gold on the streets of Atlanta, running to victory in the physically challenging marathon. In doing so, he became the first Black South African to win an Olympic gold medal.

This was the second time the country was competing in the Olympics since being banned in 1960 because of its apartheid system of government.

Amazingly, only five months before Thugwane's historic victory, he didn't know if he would even live after being shot when he was carjacked near his hometown in the province of Mpumalanga. President Nelson Mandela called Thugwane "our golden boy" and "a worthy role model." When he returned home, his family slaughtered an ox to celebrate his victory.

In addition to Thugwane, there were several other African athletes who deserved as grand a celebration. Ethiopians Fatuma Roba and Haile Gebrselassie also struck gold in long-distance running events. Roba won the women's marathon and Gebrselassie, the holder of five long-distance running records, was victorious in the 10,000 meters.

Other African athletes included Venuste Niyongabo of Burundi, who finished first in the 5,000 meters, winning his war-torn country's first medal in its first Olympics. Kenyan Joseph Keter won the gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Algerian Noureddine Morceli won the men's 1,500 meters, and fellow countryman Hocine Soltani took the gold in boxing's lightweight division. Meanwhile, White South African swimmer Penny Heyns won gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke.

The Olympic success of Nigeria's athletes prompted its government to declare a national public holiday. Thousands of fans poured into the streets of Lagos to celebrate their men's soccer team's 3-2 victory over Argentina to win the gold medal. They also celebrated the performance of Nigerian policewoman Chioma Ajunwa, who captured the country's first gold medal in the women's long jump

Many African athletes returning with gold medals have been promised large sums of money by their governments and some of their country's wealthy citizens. Agents are scurrying to sign Olympic winners, and corporations-looking for men and women to pitch their products-are expected to follow, almost guaranteeing that life for these athletes will never be the same. It was also a good Olympics for Africans in the Diaspora. Blacks in such places as Jamaica, Cuba, Canada, France and the Bahamas turned in outstanding performances. Jamaica's Deon Hemmings won her country's only gold medal when she finished first in the 400-meter hurdles. Donovan Bailey of Canada earned the title of "World's Fastest Man," winning the 100 meters, and Blacks who made up Cuba's volleyball, baseball and boxing squads won gold medals in convincing fashion, as did Blacks on Canada's 4x100 relay team. Meanwhile, the Bahamas women's 4x100 relay team won a silver medal.