Burundian athletes eliminated in the first round – 2024-08-02 19:46:13 – 2024-08-02 19:46:14 – 2024-08-02 19:48:19 – 2024-08-02 19:50:00 – 2024-08-02 19:50:20 – 2024-08-02 19:52:03 – 2024-08-02 19:53:17 – 2024-08-02 19:55:00

Ange Ciella Niragira (women’s judo -78 kg) and Belly-Cresus Ganira (men’s 50m freestyle swimming) are the first Burundian athletes to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the first round.

The Olympic Games are taking place in Paris, France. The first Burundian athletes began their competition on August 1st. Unfortunately, they did not shine. All were eliminated in the first round. First, there was Ange Ciella Niragira, who was eliminated by the Polish judoka Beata Pacut-Kloczko in less than a minute, in the under 78 kg category.

Odette Ntahomvukiye, the Burundian Olympian who competed in the London 2012 Olympics in the judo discipline, said that there is nothing surprising. Why? Because judoka Niragira faced a high-level and very talented athlete. In addition, according to Ms. Ntahomvukiye, for Burundian judokas to progress significantly, financial and material resources are necessary. Thus, they will be able to train properly and professionally, without forgetting to train abroad to discover new horizons.

The second Burundian athlete who participated in the Olympic Games and was eliminated in the first round was Belly-Cresus Ganira. He competed in the men’s 50-meter freestyle, in the fourth heat. In the said heat, he swam this distance in 23.80 seconds, which ranked him second in his heat. He was beaten by Swiss swimmer Thierry Bollin, who won heat 4 in 22.95 seconds and qualified for the next phase, to the detriment of Burundian swimmer M. Ganira.

Did the swimmer do his best?

« I wouldn’t say that Belly-Cresus Ganira had a bad time, because he was ranked second in the heat he competed in. But unfortunately, that’s not enough to qualify for the next stage. “, says Cassien Basogomba, president of the Burundian Swimming Federation. He adds that in aquatic sports, all the times of engagement are taken in all the series and only the 16 swimmers with the best times qualify for the semi-finals. For Mr. Basogomba, Mr. Ganira’s time is far from bad, if we take into consideration the performances of his competitors in all the series. This Burundian swimmer is among the best in the sub-region. Furthermore, among the African swimmers who participated in the men’s 50m freestyle swimming, Mr. Ganira occupies second position after the Nigerian Tobi Sijuade, who achieved a time of 23.34 seconds. It should be noted that in this discipline, no African qualified for the next phase (semi-final).

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Burundian athletes will continue to compete, but this time in athletics. This Friday, August 2, Francine Niyomukunzi will compete in the women’s 5,000 m at 6:36 p.m. in heat 2. As for Célestin Ndikumana, he will compete in the men’s 10,000 m at 9:20 p.m.

Initially, seven Burundian athletes were to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Unfortunately, at the last minute, one of them, Rodrigue Kwizera, withdrew due to an injury that would not allow him to compete. This athlete was to compete in the men’s 10,000m.