Medal corner: Team SA in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games

The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games have been a rollercoaster of emotions for South African sports fans, with a mix of heartbreak and euphoria. But one thing is certain: Team South Africa has made its mark on the global stage.

Swimming sensation Tatjana Smith, who had already etched her name into the history books with her previous Olympic triumphs, once again proved her dominance in the pool. She followed her gold medal up with a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke final.

Her gold and silver medal wins in the 100m Paris cemented her place as South Africa’s greatest Olympian.

Moving from the pool to the mountains, Alan Hatherly brought home a bronze medal in mountain biking. This was a hard-fought victory, a testament to Hatherly’s incredible skill, endurance, and mental fortitude. His podium finish was a proud moment for South Africa, showcasing our country’s prowess in a sport often dominated by European nations.

And then there were the Blitzboks. The South African rugby sevens team, renowned for their electrifying style of play, added another layer of excitement to the Games. Their bronze medal win was a fitting reward for their relentless effort and teamwork. The Blitzboks have consistently been a force to be reckoned with on the world stage, and their Olympic medal is a testament to their unwavering commitment to excellence.

South African sprinter Akani Simbine finally got his long awaited Olympic medal by snatching gold along with his teammates in the Men’s 4x100m relays. Teenagers Bayanda Walaza and Bradley Nkoana teamed up with Shaun Maswangani for the opening legs, then an incredible run from Simbine in the anchor leg earned them a silver medal behind Canada.

And finally, javelin thrower Jo-Ane van Dyk would impress in the women’s Javelin Final. There were signs of form with a career-best throw of 64.22m in the qualifiers and the 26-year-old carried that into the final. Managing 63.93m when it mattered, Van Dyk sealed a silver medal behind Haruka Kitaguchi, who threw 65.80m.

Team South Africa closed off the Paris Olympics with a stunning six medals, which betters their tally from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Gold medals

Tatjana Smith: Swimming

Tatjana Smith (nee Schoenmaker) secured South Africa’s first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games after coming from behind to take first place in the 100m breaststroke event on Monday evening.

The double gold dream is now on with Smith set to compete in her more favoured event, the 200m breaststroke.

It’s Smith’s first Olympic gold medal in the event after narrowly missing first place in Tokyo three years ago when she left with silver around her neck.

Smith came into the final as the favourite, having swum identical heat and semifinal times of 1:05.00, faster than any of her adversaries.

Her time in the final was a slower 1:05.28 which was only just quick enough for victory. The final in the La Défense Arena in the French capital was less than straightforward for the breaststroke queen. She was slow out of the blocks and was fourth at the halfway stage.

However, Smith, who is a 200m breaststroke specialist, found her groove in the final 25 metres when it looked like she might miss out on a medal altogether.

China’s Tang Qianting led from the get-go and at one stage held a one-metre lead while Mona McSharry from Ireland proved a valiant opponent next to Smith.

However, it was all Smith in the final few metres as she ate up the distance between her and the two women in front of her when it seemed like there was not enough pool to make up the distance.

Silver medals

Tatjana Smith: 200m breaststroke

Breaststroke queen Tatjana Smith landed a fourth Olympic medal, her second at Paris 2024, and immediately announced she was done with swimming.

She took silver in the 200m breaststroke, losing her crown to American Kate Douglass, who won in a 2:19.24 American record.

Smith, who fought on the final lap, touched in 2:19.60 with Dutch swimmer Tes Schouten third in 2:21.05.
Smith’s Tuks teammate Kaylene Corbett was seventh in 2:24.46.

The 27-year-old had already made local history after winning the 100m breaststroke, becoming the first South African to win gold medals at different Olympics in real time.

But she was unable to become the first to retain a gold in real time, showing just how difficult it is for a sportsperson to stay at the top from one Games to the next.

Jo-Ane van Dyk: Javelin

Jo-Ane van Dyk added a sixth medal to South Africa’s Olympic haul, after securing a silver medal in the women’s javelin throw on Saturday night.

Van Dyk, a four-time African Championships medallist, showcased her skill and determination by delivering a throw of 63.93m in the final.

This impressive performance was just 29cm short of her personal best of 64.22m, set during the qualifying round.

Van Dyk’s remarkable achievement saw her finish second behind Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi, who won gold with a throw of 65.80m. This silver medal marks a significant milestone in Van Dyk’s career, solidifying her position as one of the world’s top javelin throwers.

Team SA Men’s Relay team: 4x100m Relay

Akani Simbine delivered another storming run as he took South Africa from fifth to second in the 4x100m relay at Stade de France to secure the first major medal of his career.

The man who had missed out so narrowly in the 100m final on Sunday, finishing fourth by one-hundredth of a second, delivered a superb performance as the anchor, streaking the final leg in an incredible 8.78sec take the silver medal in a 37.57sec African record.

Schoolboy Bayanda Walaza got the team off to a good start, clocking 10.41 before handing over to Shaun Maswanganyi, who did 9.06 down the back straight.

Bradley Nkoana, at 19, just one year older than Walaza, went around the bend in 9.32 before handing over to Simbine.

Simbine also finished fourth in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics and fifth at Rio 2016. He was fourth at the world championships in 2019 and fifth in 2017 and 2022.

Bronze medals

Alan Hatherly: Mountain bike riding

Mountain biker Alan Hatherly won South Africa’s second medal of the Paris Olympics, taking bronze in the cross-country event on Monday afternoon.

He finished behind British phenom Tom Pidcock, who twice battled his way from behind to take the lead, and Frenchman Victor Koretzky to claim South Africa’s first Olympic cycling medal since Melbourne 1956.

Hatherly attacked from the start, moving into the lead early on, and though he was shunted back to seventh or so at one stage, he kept pressing and surging, eventually moving into third spot with a healthy gap behind him.

Pidcock, the pre-race favourite, was forced to stop for a wheel change and Hatherly moved into second until the Briton powered his way back up the front of the field, eventually winning in 1 hr 26 min 22 sec. Hatherly finished 11 seconds behind the Englishman.

Blitzboks: Rugby Sevens

The Blitzboks won Team South Africa’s first medal of the Paris Olympics, taking the bronze when they beat Australia 26-19 with a last-gasp try at the Stade de France on Saturday.

Zain Davids scored two tries and captain Selvyn Davids would have dotted down twice, but he handed the ball to Shaun Williams in-goal to claim the winning try after the scores had been locked at 19-19.
Australia had been reduced to six men after Nick Malouf was red-carded, but they scored two late tries to level the scores, before skipper Davids found space on the left side.

Earlier, the Blitzboks lost 5-19 to France in the semifinals. South Africa were booed by the crowd when they ran onto the field, still unforgiven for knocking the French team out of the Rugby World Cup last year.

After a scoreless first half, Antoine Dupont ran onto the field to a massive roar, and not long afterwards South Africa finally broke the deadlock when Tristan Leyds scored in the corner.

But after that, the home side scored after finding a gap in midfield and from that point they stole the momentum, scoring twice more in the final minutes for a convincing victory.

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