NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 8 – The National anthem was belted twice on Sunday afternoon at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo with Peres Jepchirchir and Eliud Kipchoge receiving their Marathon gold medals.
The two medal ceremonies were reserved for the closing day with the two events having been staged in the City of Sapporo, 832km away from the Capital Tokyo.
Kenya ensured they finished the two-week sporting extravaganza on a high with Kipchoge laying the marker with the gold in the final event this morning.
Kenya finished third in the athletics medal rankings, with USA finishing top with 26 medals while Italy was second with five medals, all of them gold.
Overall, Kenya finished 19th in the world and was the best ranked country in Africa with 10 medals; four gold, four silver and two bronze.
The two-week long extravaganza came to an end in an intricate closing ceremony, just as it had opened in the Japanese capital.
A rendition of traditional and Japanese music rent the air with dances as well as a beautiful match past by the participating teams.
The games have been held majorly behind closed doors due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) boss Thomas Bach was full of praise of the work put in by the host nation as well as the Japanese Government.
Bach called the Tokyo Games “unprecedented” as he addressed the 68,000-seat Olympic Stadium, which was empty of spectators as Japan battles a record coronavirus outbreak.
“In these difficult times we are all living through, you give the world the most precious of gifts: hope,” the International Olympic Committee president told athletes at the ceremony.
“And now I have to mark the end of this most challenging Olympic journey to Tokyo: I declare the Games of the 32nd Olympiad closed,” Bach said.
