PARIS, France, Jul 28 – Reminiscing about his best memories of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Kenya 7s fly-half Nygel Amaitsa termed Friday’s hours-long Opening Ceremony “a sight to behold”.
For the 22-year-old Musingu alumnus-who is the youngest in Shujaa’s squad alongside winger Patrick Odongo-seeing Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked opening ceremony was “a sight for sore eyes”!
“To see thousands of Olympic competitors cruise down the River Seine in a spectacular opening ceremony for the Paris Games on Friday and being resident in a star-studded village was big; so was our game against Australia,” Amaitsa, who hails from Kakamega quipped.
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games started with an opening ceremony held on the Seine River in Paris featuring magnificent mechanical horses, Lady Gaga, and several celebrities including home demigod Zinedine Zidane.
TV viewers were treated to some exhilarating displays like no other where the Seine functioned as a huge stage, with performances held on bridges and rooftops.
–A journey Of A 1000 Miles—
“It feels great to be called an Olympian, now that rugby sevens in the Olympic Games is done and dusted. Playing at the Olympics and finishing ninth has been an inspiring journey, although ninth is not the result we wanted,” Amaista told Capital Sport.
He went on: “It was really an amazing experience at the village mingling with players from other countries. All in all, a great feeling playing alongside those I used to watch when I was a kid. I gain invaluable experience every time I play alongside them.”
–Lessons Learnt–
Being an Olympian at the picturesque 53-hectare Olympic Village, which stretches along a trio of municipalities-Saint-Ouen, Saint-Denis, and L’Ile-Saint-Denis, Amaitsa believes he has grasped a lot more in maters sportsmanship, persistence and perseverance, in his Olympic debut.
Kenya finishing ninth in Paris has also taught the Strathmore prodigy that recovering from setbacks and the importance of picking yourself back up and getting back into the action is inevitable.
He added: “France is a very beautiful place; everything looks great here. It’s different from all the places that I have visited before. I just felt I am in a unique atmosphere. I interacted a lot more at the village with players from different countries, I was also very curious to know what they do differently from us.”
–Revenge on Samoa—
Amaitsa admits that they were caught napping in their last group loss to Samoa whom they beat 10-5 in the ninth place play off.
“First time round we were not at our best, but we decided that that they wouldn’t embarrass us twice. It was also our last Olympic match, so all and sundry wanted to give their all. Uruguay was our very first win which was quite a good feeling.”
–First Opportunity—
Amaitsa was overly excited when he played against the mighty Argentinians.” I just switched on, put all the jitters aside, at the warm up. I was ready for anything. When on the bench, I was briefed what to do, and I knew what to do when I came in.”
The Shujaa rising star is dedicating his Olympic debut to his family- His dad, mum three brothers and two sisters as well as his niece, and nephew.
“Unfortunately, things didn’t go our way. We just have to live with it. I sent them (family) images and videos from France just to give them a clear picture of the kind of experience I encountered, said Amaitsa who is the fifth born in a family of six.
The player is now looking forward to the HBSC World Series which will be another first after his Olympics debut.
But he says the Series will again be a matter of ticking the boxes.
He explained: “As we head home, being perfect in whatever I do will be key. I’ll also make sure I interact with the right people. HSBC won’t be a walk in the pack, as it will entail more of conditioning and more of speed. We will face it as it comes.”
AMAITSA FACT PROFILE
NAME: NYGEL AMAITSA
AGE: 22
CLUB: Strathmore Leos
POSITION: Fly-Half
HOME TOWN: Kakamega/Amalemba
HOBBIES: Watching/listening to music
FAVOURITE FOOD: Matoke
OCCUPATION: Student
ROLE MODEL: Billy Odhiambo
HIGH SCHOOL: Musingu High school
UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE: Strathmore University
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Paris, France-
