In 2024, African female athletes were nothing short of sensational. From breaking records to clinching medals on the biggest stages, they showcased talent, and an unyielding spirit that continues to elevate the continent’s status in athletics. As the year draws to a close, we celebrate these phenomenal women by highlighting the Top 10 African Female Athletes.
10. Prudence Sekgodiso
Prudence Sekgodiso has for a while emerged as one of Africa’s brightest talents in the 800m and in 2024, she took things further.
For the first time in her career, she opened up her season with a sub-2 minute performance in Pretoria in March, clocking a time of 1:58.05 and setting a new Personal Best (PB) in that process.
She went on to win her seventh National title in the 1500m and competed at the Marrakech Diamond League where she won her first major win on the international circuit, clocking a time of 1:57.26 to take the women’s 800m. As at the time of that performance, she was the fastest in the world at that distance.
Sekgodiso followed this up with more wins in Europe, including another Diamond League victory in Oslo in the buildup to the Olympic Games. In Paris, she raced herself into her first global 800m final, nearing her PB in the process. She finished 8th in the final and competed later in the year at the Diamond League final in Brussels.
9. Ese Brume
Being Africa’s most dominant female Long Jumper does not get handed down to you on a platter and Ese Brume keeps showing us why. She started off 2024 with some races, even at one time running a 4x400m.
Her year really took off at the African Games in Ghana. She made history by becoming the second woman after Modupe Oshikoya to successfully defend an African Games title in the Long Jump, extending her winning streak on the Continental scene to eight years, starting from her triumph at the African Championships in Durban in 2016!
She produced a windy 6.92m, with her best two jumps good enough to secure the win. While she competed rather scantily, Brume bettered this mark three months later at her base in the US, recording a mark of 6.94m which was also wind-aided.
At the African Athletics Championships in Cameroon, she became the first Long Jumper, male or female, to win four titles in the history of the Championships, extending her dominance on the continent to a decade since winning her maiden title at the 2014 edition in Marrakech.
The African Record holder was trailing defending champion Marthe Koala until her last attempt when she soared to a distance of 6.73m to reclaim her fourth unprecedented GOLD, narrowly displacing Koala by 1cm and further showing how much of a championship performer she was.
Brume went on to make her third Olympic appearance in Paris, making the final and finishing 5th. She led three women to become the first Nigerian trio to make an Olympic final in an individual event.
8. Favour Ofili
Since she transitioned into a professional athlete, one could have given Favour Ofili a pass on the indoor season, especially since she got injured the last time she raced indoors, but she showed up to race on two occasions – one of which she set a new record!
At the NB Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, she broke the Nigerian and African Record set by Amantle Montsho in the women’s 300m, running a blazing 35.99s, which made her the 10th fastest woman to ever run the distance.
Over her next couple of appearances, Ofili with a visible improvement in form, went on a total rampage, running marginally wind aided times of 10.85s and 10.78s over 100m in Baton Rouge. At one of these outings, she also clocked a very impressive 22.33s over 200m.
With one of the fastest relay splits of the entire competition, she played a pivotal role in bringing Nigeria to qualification in the women’s 4x100m at the World Relays, running the back straight. From there, she honed her skills in the 100m particularly with hopes of making it to the Olympics and hit the qualification standard to win her maiden title in the event.
While Ofili never got the chance to run the 100m, she represented in the 200m instead, becoming the first Nigerian woman in 28 years to qualify for the final of the event at an Olympic Games. The last Nigerian to reach the women’s 200m final was Mary Onyali, who won a Bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
She was one of just two Nigerian athletes who made the final of a track event in Paris and the only woman to do so.
7. Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith
Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith is an icon who continues to inspire the next generation of African and global female sprinters, excelling while doing so.
She had a rough season with injury in 2024, but did really well regardless. At the World Relays in The Bahamas, she helped Ivory Coast to the win in their repechage round race in the women’s 4x100m, which earned them a spot to compete at the Olympic Games.
After that outing, she won her next race in quick succession in Jamaica, clocking a time of 10.91s and posted a time of 22.36s in her first Diamond League race over 200m in Oslo. In her build-up to Paris, she consistently finished top two in her races and with the Olympics possibly as her swansong, she wanted to make an impact.
She opened up her campaign with an easy win, clocking an SB of 10.87s and also progressed from the semifinal with niggle that escalated. She came on track for the final with a limp and was never in the race for the crown, winding down 8th in the standings.
Ta Lou-Smith was able to make an appearance for Ivory Coast in the women’s 4x100m but they couldn’t get their baton around and were disqualified. She completed the rest of the season with little issue, finishing 3rd in the Brussels Diamond League 100m final and closing out the year with a major win at the inaugural Athlos women-only meet in New York City.
6. Jo-Ane Van Dyk
South Africa had a void to fill with the exit of Sunette Viljoen from competitive Athletics. She was a dominant force on the African scene, setting multiple records in the women’s Javelin.
Then comes Jo-Ane Van Dyk, swooping in to save the day! She opened up the year with a win in Potchefstroom, throwing a new PB of 62.24m, after which she competed at the African Games, winning the GOLD.
She would improve her PB over the course of the next two months, at one time, surpassing 63m at the Hylo Javelin meeting in Germany with 63.57m. Van Dyk successfully defended her African Championships title from 2022 in Cameroon, her pit stop before the Olympic Games in Paris where she made history.
She became the only African athlete to win a medal in a field event at the Olympic Games, pulling a massive surprise to win Silver! She had bettered her own PB with a 64.22m throw to make the final, and while the women’s Javelin was the most it had ever been, she was no one’s cherry pick to win a medal.
Away from her brilliance on the field, she got married in October.
