Ethiopia and Namibia celebrate gold as African women shine in Paris
Tigist Mengistu retained her 1500m T13 title while Lahja Ishitile won the women’s 400m T11.
Ethiopia’s Tigist Mengistu and Namibia’s Lahja Ishitile delivered two major African victories during the second evening of Para athletics at Paris 2024. World Para Athletics, reporting on the IPC website, confirmed gold for Mengistu in the women’s 1500m T13 and Ishitile in the women’s 400m T11.
Champions across two track events
Mengistu successfully defended her Paralympic title. Morocco’s Fatima El Idrissi finished second, giving African athletes the first two places in the 1500m final, while the United States’ Liza Corso took bronze.
Ishitile became only the second Namibian woman to win Paralympic gold. Brazil’s Thalita Simplicio and China’s He Shanshan completed the 400m T11 podium. The evening also brought Algeria a field-event medal through Ahmed Mehideb’s bronze in the men’s club throw F32. Together, the results recorded African success across distance running, sprinting and throwing on a busy night at the Stade de France.