- "Musical" for the Olympic gold - "Tears of Joy"
Freshly crowned Olympic champion in shot put, Yemisi Ogunleye, concluded the press conference with a delightful surprise. When asked to showcase her singing talent, the 25-year-old enthusiastically thanked God with a gospel song - the same song she claimed to have sung during her impressive performance.
"My heart is simply filled with gratitude," said the surprise Olympic champion. After her gold medal win, she ran to the curve to celebrate with her family and coaches. "Having my family in the front row to witness this moment was incredible," she recounted, "I hugged everyone and we cried tears of joy together."
Gold after 28 years
Germany won gold in shot put for the first time since Astrid Kumbernuss in 1996. Ogunleye is the fifth German woman to achieve Olympic victory in this athletics discipline.
Following silver medals for decathlete Leo Neugebauer and long jumper Malaika Mihambo, and a bronze medal for the women's 4x100m relay team, Ogunleye brought great glory to Germany at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. No German athletes remain in the finals on Saturday night. In Tokyo, there was one gold and two silver medals.
The competition didn't start well for the Mannheim native. In the first round, Ogunleye slipped in the wet ring and fell on her knee. "I had the chance to give up or keep going," she described her inspiring performance. Three years after Mihambo's gold, which she celebrated together with Ogunleye in the Olympic lead-up, the shot putter is the next German Olympic champion.
"God, you made it so easy"
Before her final throw of 20.00 meters, the devout athlete turned to God. "I stood in the ring and knew this was going to happen. I said, 'God, come with me into the ring and give me the strength and necessary courage'," said Ogunleye. "When I saw the ball land on the 20-meter line, it was a moment of pure shock. God, you made it so easy."**
In challenging times, she found her way to God. Ogunleye had to fight back from severe injuries, deal with racism and bullying. Born in Germany, she comes from Bellheim in the Palatinate. She is proud of her mixed heritage, as she stated after placing second at the World Indoor Championships this year. She also won bronze at the European Championships in June.
Turning and music help
Nothing compares to her Olympic moment in Paris. Silver medalist Maddison-Lee Wesche from New Zealand and bronze medalist Song Jiayun from China appear much more powerful next to Ogunleye. She owes her Olympic victory to the spin technique. "I used to do gymnastics, which gave me a certain body awareness," she said. "I'm musical, I have rhythm, and I have the size, leverage, and quickness needed for the spin technique."
Leo Neugebauer, the decathlete who earned a silver medal, expressed his support for Ogunleye's achievement, saying, "Leo newly built, the spirit of our German athletes is at an all-time high." After her triumph, Ogunleye shared her success with Leo during their celebrations, reflecting their strong camaraderie.
