The Egyptian sportsmen and sportswomen victoriously culminated the ten-day event held in Gaborone by clinching an overall total of 90 medals, 45 of which were gold. As soon as the news hit home, Head of State President Adli Mansour sent a congratulations letter to the Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled Abdel-Aziz to pass on to the athletes his appreciation of such brilliant performances and outstanding achievements. Topping the standings of the final medals table meant that Egypt's Youth were placed first in the overall standings for the second time in a row and that Egypt has qualified to the 2nd Youth Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Nanjing, China in August. The 90 medals accumulated by Egypt were distributed as follows: 45 gold, 17 silver and 30 bronze. South Africa were runners up with only three gold medals behind the Egyptians, but with a total of 97 medals; 42 gold, 26 silver and 29 bronze medals. According to reports from Botswana, South Africa had fought to snatch first place from Egypt based on the overall number of medals, which surpasses Egypt's. However, Egyptian officials threatened to withdraw from the final ceremony if the final results were changed. The Egyptians also threatened to complain to the International Olympic Committee, which decides the nations' standings based on the number of highest gold medals achieved regardless of the overall medals count. The third place went to Nigeria, who won 19 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze medals. Algeria was fourth with 15 gold, 22 silver and 11 bronze medals. Tunisia came in fifth with 15 gold, 15 silver and 16 bronze medals. Ethiopia was sixth with 14 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze medals. Kenya was placed seventh with 7 gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze medals. The host nation Botswana came in the eighth place with 7 gold, 6 silver and 20 bronze medals. Morocco was ninth with 6 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze medals, whereas Namibia fell in the tenth place with 6 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medals. Almost 2,500 athletes from 54 African nations competed in 21 sports at the competition, which ended with a closing ceremony on Saturday night. The Egyptian delegation will be honoured in a special ceremony, which will take place next week, according to Abdel-Aziz, adding that theirs was a remarkable victory crowning the young athletes' great effort. “They deserved the victory and brought glory to the nation,” Abdel-Aziz said. “The ceremony will be held in celebration and appreciation of their wonderful achievements and spectacular performances at the games.” Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has concluded the first of three stops on a visit to Africa, taking in the final two days of the 2nd African Youth Games in Gaborone. In Gaborone, the IOC President attended a reception hosted by the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) Lassana Palenfo, which was attended by representatives of all 53 African NOCs present at the games and representatives of the South Sudan sporting movement. Palenfo attended several of the competitions and visited the athlete's village, meeting young athletes from many of the 54 competing nations. He also met with IOC members in Africa to discuss a range of topics, including the Olympic Agenda 2020. The group exchanged ideas on the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement and the contribution that Africa could make. On Saturday, Palenfo convened a meeting of the Sudan NOC and representatives of the South Sudan sporting movement, which the IOC is currently helping to set up its own National Olympic Committee. The parties discussed ways to assist athletes on the ground, as well as humanitarian issues. The delegations also reported that since the IOC signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations, they had been able to contact local UN officials to work on programmes related to sports and development. Later, the IOC President laid the foundation stone at the site of the future headquarters of the Botswana National Olympic Committee. The new HQ is being supported by the IOC, whose president, Bach, praised the Botswana NOC for their vision. “You may be a small African country in terms of population,” he said, “but you have placed yourself at the heart of Olympic sports in Africa.” President Bach's three-nation tour to Africa will also include stops in Kenya and Ethiopia this week.
