4x400m team smashes African record on way to Olympics bronze

The achievement doubles the country's overall tally since the first participation in 1980, after Nijel Amos won the first medal, a silver, in 2012.

Isaac Makwala, Baboloki Thebe, Zibani Ngozi and Bayapo Ndori became instant heroes, rescuing what could have been a deflating Olympics campaign, as they smashed the African record on their way to finishing third with a time of 2:57.27. The quartet bettered their own African record set on Friday, as they finally brought smiles to a nation in the middle of a devastating third COVID-19 wave.