West Africa Wins Again

This is what the Olympics is all about. Benjamin Boukpeti won Togo's first ever Olympic medal when he finished third in the men's white water kayak race. Boukpeti will be hailed as a national hero as soon as the West African nation he represents figures out who he is.

I visited Togo twenty -five years ago as part of a trip to visit International Schools there and in Kenya. It was a poor nation then, and presumably a poor nation now. Simply flying into the Lome, Togo airport was a risky proposition. Looking out the window as we landed a quarter century ago, I was astonished to see a jet nose-down into the ground next to the runway. I soon found out that it had crashed just a week or so earlier. It was still sitting (standing?) in its crash-position because there were no funds for removing it. When I asked a person at the airport what happened, he said, "WAWA" or "West Africa Wins Again". The expression meant that there are seemingly inexplicable things that occur that can only be attributed to the curse / charm of living in West Africa. The nose-down plane didn't seem that charming to me at the time. I actually thought of Maxwell Smart ("I was this close").

But the airport experience aside, the trip to Togo was intensely enjoyable and to this day I sit up when I hear news from that country. So it was with great interest when I heard that Togo had won its first-ever Olympic medal. Every country deserves one.

Like a number of Olympians through the years, Benjamin Boukpeti decided he could not make the national team of his home country, France. And like so many French, when the going gets tough, he got going. After finishing 18th at the Athens Olympics in 2004, Boukpeti assessed his chances of making the French team. Apparently not feeling confident, he made effective use of his heritage and chose to represent Togo.

This year, he won the African Championships in Kenya which qualified him for the Olympics. Subsequently, he won the first medal in white water kayaking by a non-European. Togo has now joined the countries of the world with an Olympic medal. Next time, I hope the athlete is home grown or at least better known in the country he's representing. Regardless, when they win again, I'll be the first to say WAWA.