- Title: TOGO: OLYMPICS BEIJING 2008 -Togo celebrates its first ever Olympic medal
- Date: 13th August 2008
- Summary: LOME, TOGO (AUGUST 12, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF THE HEADQUARTERS OF TOGO'S NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (SOUNDBITE) (French) NICAISE TOKPA , TOGOLESE CIVIL SERVANT, SAYING: "By competing among almost 14,000 athletes and winnning an Olympic medal, Benjamin Boukpeti has delivered a big first. The Togolese sportsmen and sportswomen are celebrating and should make a big effort to participate in games on the continent and create an awareness amongst the presidents of federations to invest much more in team and individual sports" MEN ON MOTORBIKE PASSING BY (SOUNDBITE) (French) GERSON DOVLO, SPORTS JOURNALIST AT RADIO STATION 'SPORTSFM', SAYING: "It is natural that there should be great feelings of joy in Togo. For the first time in journalistic memory, an Olympic medal is being brought home. This has never happened before. To be honest, we thought that Togo's participation in the Olympics would be just that. Today the reality is that Togo has a medal, albeit a bronze medal. I think a line has been crossed and we call all Togolese to support sport, whatever the discipline" VARIOUS OF GERSON DOVLO IN THE STUDIO OF RADIO STATION 'SPORTSFM' VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING
- Embargoed: 28th August 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Togo
- Country: Togo
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA4TSBMLKVQR4CST6B351M30ZFF
- Story Text: Togolese journalists and officials are celebrating the country's first ever Olympic medal, with the wider population expected to join in celebrations as news spreads of the bronze won by kayaker Benjamin Boukpeti.
News of Togo's first ever Olympic medal was taking a while to trickle through to the wider population on Tuesday (August 12), but those in the know were ecstatic.
Benjamin Boukpeti on Tuesday won bronze in a kayak event. He was born and raised in France to a Togolese father and French mother and has only been to Togo once, as a baby, but intends visiting again to join in any celebrations.
"By competing among almost 14,000 athletes and winnning an Olympic medal, Benjamin Boukpeti has delivered a big first. The Togolese sportsmen and sportswomen are celebrating and should make a big effort to participate in games on the continent and creat an awareness amongst the presidents of federations to invest much more in team and individual sports," said Nicaise Tokpa, a civil servant in the capital, Lome.
The win is expected to generate a lot more Togolese interest in the Olympics. Highlights from the competition have been available locally on television during morning broadcasts, which are now set to draw a much larger audience.
Gerson Dovlo, a sports journalist at SportsFM in the country's capital, said most Togolese expected the Olympics to be just another competition. The medal changed that, he said and changed the way people would think about sport.
"It is natural that there should be great feelings of joy in Togo.
For the first time in journalistic memory, an Olympic medal is being brought home. This has never happened before. To be honest, we thought that Togo's participation in the Olympics would be just that. Today the reality is that Togo has a medal, albeit a bronze medal. I think a line has been crossed and we call all Togolese to support sport, whatever the discipline," said Dovlo.
The win has also changed expectations about the country's Olympic team.
Many Togolese are now expecting a big celebration on the team's return to Togo. That and a possible award from the president may also entice Boukpeti to Togo quicker than he might have expected. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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