Ms Natalena Godfrey in the middle after winning Gold Medal - Courtesy

A South Sudanese female athlete Atalena Napule Lohiha has secured the nation’s first-ever gold medal at the ongoing All-Africa Games in Ghana.

Ms. Atalena Napule Lohiha makes history by winning the women’s half marathon in Accra, securing South Sudan’s First Gold Medal in the All-Africa Games.

South Sudan participated for the first time in Congo Brazzaville all-Africa games in 2015.

Atalena views this as just the beginning and is setting her sights on even greater achievements in the future.

She emphasized that any achievement requires hard work, patience, a determined mindset, and an unwavering focus on one’s goals.

Despite the fierce competition, Atalena achieved something significant for her country.

She believes any girl passionate about her country can accomplish what she did.

After being crowned champion of the half marathon and winning a gold medal in Accra on Friday, March 22, 2024, Atalena expressed her joy and gratitude.

‘I am very happy, I did a good thing for South Sudan, I will say maybe one day I will do the best. Today the competition that we went through was not easy but I put all my effort because I knew South Sudanese would support me,”  Ms Atalena said.

“Let’s try next time maybe I will do better, I’m telling someone who dares to run that he/she can participate, train well and achieve what I have done today,” she said.

South Sudan Athletic Secretary General, Marco Akol, hailed it as a historic milestone for the entire South Sudan Athletic Federation.

He emphasizes that the recent developments are the result of individual initiative, which should be embraced and supported by the entire nation.

“I want to say congratulations to the Republic of South Sudan for winning the first-ever gold medal at the African level, where 54 countries participated, this is a great achievement obtained by personal efforts,” said Marco.

“We as the federation are giving our thanks to all the athletes and in particular the champion Atalena the winner of the Gold medal that we are honoured as the South Sudan Athletic Federation,” he said.

The All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC).

All of the competing nations are from the African continent. The first Games were held in 1965 in Brazzaville, Congo. The International Olympic Committee granted official recognition as a continental multi-sport event, along with the Asian Games and Pan American Games. Since 1999, the Games have also included athletes with a disability.