South Africa first participated at the Olympics Games 120 years ago in 1904 in St. Louis and sent athletes to compete at every Olympics Games until 1960 in Rome.
At that time, in response to South Africa’s policy of apartheid, Mzansi was then barred from the Games.
After negotiations to end apartheid in the country commenced in 1990, South Africa re-joined the Olympic movement.
South African returned to the Olympic family in 1992
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) was created in 1991 and South Africa returned to the Games at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
In total, South Africa was excluded from seven Olympic Games’ during that period.
South Africa has competed at a total of 20 Olympic Games to date and won a total of 89 medals.
Those 89 medals comprise 27 golds, 33 silvers and 29 bronzes.
Those medals have come in 11 different sports, with athletics (28), swimming (20) and boxing (19) the top three sports.
South Africa has struck gold in six of those 11 sports.
South Africa’s athletes will be looking to add to that tally at this year’s Paris Olympics from 26 July to 11 August.
But which has been South Africa’s most successful Games?
On three occasions, South Africa’s athletes returned to the country with 10 medals.
Those Games were in 1920 (Antwerp, Belgium), 1952 (Helsinki, Finland) and 2016 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
However, in terms of gold medals won – which determines a country’s rank on the medal table – the 1912 Games in Stockholm, Sweden and 100 years later at the 2012 edition in London, England proved most lucrative with four golds.
Squads for Paris
Last week Sascoc announced the first batch of South African athletes for Paris, including the athletics and swimming squads.
ATHLETICS (17)
Men: Luxolo Adams (200m), Stephen Mokoka (marathon), Zakhiti Nene (400m), Lythe Pillay (400m), Benjamin Richardson (200m), Akani Simbine (100m), Tshepo Tshite (1 500m), Wayde van Niekerk (400m), Jovan van Vuuren (long jump), Adriaan Wildschutt (5 000m, 10 000m)
Women: Marione Fourie (100mH), Zeney Geldenhuys (400mH), Rogail Joseph (400mH), Cian Oldknow (marathon), Prudence Sekgodiso (800m), Gerda Steyn (marathon), Irvette van Zyl (marathon)
AQUATICS (8)
Men: Pieter Coetze (100m, 200m backstroke), Chad le Clos (100m butterfly), Matthew Sates (100m, 200m butterfly and 200m IM)
Women: Aimee Canny (200m freestyle), Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke), Erin Gallagher (100m butterfly), Rebecca Meder (200m IM), Tatjana Smith (100m, 200m breaststroke)
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SOUTH AFRICA MEDALS AT EVERY OLYMPIC GAMES
MEDALS WON BY SPORT
Ranked by gold medals won, then silver in the event of a tie