Olympic history of South Africa
26th | 31 | 29 |
South Africa's NOK , the South Africa Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee , was founded in 1991 andrecognizedby the IOC in the same year. The previous body was the South African Olympic and Empire Games Association or its successor, the South African Olympic and Commonwealth Association . As a British colony, South Africa took part in the 1904 Olympic Games. From then on, South African athletes were sent to all summer games up to 1960, as well as the 1960 winter games. Because of its apartheid policy, South Africa was excluded from the 1962 Olympic Games. After the end of the apartheid system in 1991, the country was resumed and has been participating in the Olympic Games again since 1992.
Overview
Summer games
1904 to 1912
South Africa's Olympic debut took place at the 1904 Games in St. Louis . Eight athletes competed in track and field and in the tug of war. The first Olympians were the marathon runners Len Taunyane , Jan Mashiani and Robert (Bertie) Harris, who took part in the marathon on August 30, 1904. Taunyane and Mashiani finished 9th and 12th respectively, while Harris stopped the race. In London in 1908 , South African cyclists, fencers and tennis players took part for the first time. In London there were the first medal winners for South Africa. The first medalist and Olympic champion was the 100-meter sprinter Reggie Walker on July 22, 1908 . Two days later, Charles Hefferon won silver in the marathon. In the course of 5 miles he also finished 4th. In tennis, John Richardson and doubles Victor Gauntlett / Harold Kitson reached the semi-finals and lost the game for bronze.
In 1912 in Stockholm one entered under the name South African Union . The name was retained until 1960. For the first time, marksmen and swimmers of the country took part in Stockholm. South Africa was able to win three medals in tennis. The doubles Harold Kitson / Charles Winslow won the final with 3: 1 sets against the Austrians Felix Pipes / Arthur Zborzil . In the individual final, Winslow beat his doubles partner Kitson with 3: 1 sets. In cycling, Rudolph Lewis won the road race, in the marathon Ken McArthur won ahead of his compatriot Christopher Gitsham . In the 100-meter run, George Patching took fourth place.
Len Taunyane , together with Jan Mashiani one of the first Olympic athletes in South Africa at the 1904 Games
1920 to 1936
The Games of Antwerp 1920 were ten won medals for successful participation of South Africa in the Olympics at all. In addition, with the swimmer Barbara Nash, a woman from South Africa competed in the Olympic Games for the first time. In addition to wrestlers, boxers from South Africa competed for the first time. The bantamweight Clarence Walker became Olympic champion. In athletics, Bevil Rudd won the 400-meter run. Rudd was also a member of the 400-meter relay that took silver. Next to Rudd were Henry Dafel , Clarence Oldfield and Jack Oosterlaak . Rudd also won bronze over 800 meters. Louis Raymond was Olympic champion tennis singles. The 1912 winner, George Winslow, won bronze. In cycling, Henry Kaltenbrunn won silver in road racing and, together with Hendrik Goosen, James Walker and William Smith , bronze in the team pursuit. Smith and Walker also won silver in tandem races. Another silver medal was won by the team's shooters with the military rifle over 600 meters (Robert Bodley, Frederick Morgan, George Harvey, Ferdinand Buchanan and David Smith).
In Paris in 1924 , sailors took part for the first time. Boxer William Smith became Olympic bantamweight champion. Sidney Atkinson won silver in the 110 meter hurdles, Cecil McMaster bronze in the 10 km walk. Atkinson won his silver medal in Amsterdam in 1928 , while the high jumper Marjorie Clark reached 5th place. Boxer Harry Isaacs won bronze in the bantamweight division. His teammates Bechus Lebanon in the flyweight and Don McCorkindale in the light heavyweight lost their bouts for the bronze medal. With their bronze medal in the 100 meter freestyle relay, Kathleen Russell, Rhoda Rennie, Mary Bedford and Frederika van der Goes became the first South African women to win an Olympic medal. A South African rower took part in Amsterdam for the first time.
South African athletes won five medals in Los Angeles in 1932 . The boxers Lawrence Stevens in the lightweight and David Carstens in the light heavyweight became Olympic champions. Ernest Peirce also won bronze in the middleweight division. Two other bronze medals were won by women. Marjorie Clark was third in the 80 meter hurdles, the swimmer Jenny Maakal in the 400 meter freestyle.
Participation in the 1936 Games in Berlin was a disappointment for the South African delegation after winning a silver medal. Charles Catterall won South Africa's only medal in featherweight boxing. His teammate Robey Leibbrandt lost his fight for the bronze medal in the light heavyweight division.
1948 to 1960
After the end of World War II , the Union of South Africa took part in the 1948 London Games. For the first time weight lifters and diver jumpers took part. The boxing team could win four medals. Gerald Dreyer was Olympic champion in the lightweight, George Hunter in the light heavyweight. Dennis Shepherd won silver in featherweight and John Arthur bronze in heavyweight. In athletics, Daphne Hasenjager reached the final in the 200-meter run and came in sixth. In the marathon, Johannes Coleman crossed the finish line in fourth and Syd Luyt in sixth.
Gymnastics, water polo and modern pentathlon were first performed by South Africans in Helsinki in 1952 . Two women became Olympic champions: swimmer Joan Harrison won the back 100 meters, athlete Esther Brand triumphed in the high jump. Daphne Hasenjager also won silver in the 100-meter run. The boxers were successful again. Theunis van Schalkwyk won silver in the light middleweight division. Willie Toweel won bronze in the flyweight, Leonard Leisching in the featherweight and Andries Nieman in the heavyweight division. Another three medals were won in cycling. Raymond Robinson won bronze in the 1000 meter time trial. Together with Tommy Shardelow he won silver in a tandem race. Shardelow won silver in the team pursuit along with Jimmy Swift , Robert Fowler and George Estman .
1956 in Melbourne won the 100-meter freestyle relay for women with Natalie Myburgh, Susan Roberts, Moira Abernethy and Jeanette Myburgh bronze. The boxers Henry Loubscher in the light welterweight and Daan Bekker in the heavyweight and the cyclist Jimmy Swift in the 1000-meter time trial won other bronze medals . In athletics, Malcolm Spence reached the final over 400 meters and finished sixth. Gert Potgieter achieved the same placement over the 400 meter hurdles. The freestyle wrestler Coenraad de Villiers lost his fight for the bronze medal in the welterweight division.
In 1960 in Rome , Malcolm Spence won bronze in the 400-meter run. With the 400-meter relay, he came together with Edgar Davis, Gordon Day and Edward Jefferys in 4th place. Boxer Daan Bekker was able to increase his success from Melbourne. In Rome he won silver in the heavyweight division. William Meyers won bronze in the featherweight division. There were four finals in swimming. Aubrey Bürer finished seventh in the 100 meter freestyle. Murray McLachlan finished sixth over 400 meters and 1500 meters freestyle. Laura Ranwell reached 4th place over 100 meters back.
Ban due to apartheid policy
After a referendum in 1960 , the South African Union was converted into the Republic of South Africa . The country also left the Commonwealth . The state now saw itself increasingly politically isolated. On November 6, 1962, UN General Assembly Resolution 1761 was passed. It condemned South African apartheid policies that violated the United Nations Charter . At the same time, the member states were called upon to break off diplomatic relations with South Africa. In 1962, Interior Minister Johannes de Klerk threatened to ban South African athletes who competed in mixed-race teams inside and outside the country.
During the 61st IOC session in Baden-Baden in 1963 , the IOC canceled South Africa's invitation to the 1964 Games in Tokyo . The South African NOK was urged to distance itself from the government's apartheid policy. The NOK did not respond to the request, so South Africa was excluded from the 1964 Games. Also in Mexico City in 1968 South Africa had not been invited. At the 70th IOC session in Amsterdam in 1970 , South Africa was expelled from the IOC by 35 to 28 votes with three abstentions.
South Africa was indirectly the trigger for African countries calling for a boycott of the 1976 Montreal Games . Previously, a New Zealand rugby union team had conducted a test match tour of South Africa. Since the IOC refused to ban New Zealand, 26 of 28 African countries, plus Guyana and Iraq, stayed away from the Games. Until 1976 South Africa took part in the Paralympic Games . For the first time, the country was refused participation in the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem .
After President Frederik Willem de Klerk repealed the Population Registration Act of 1950 in June 1991, apartheid was de facto over. The South African NOK was dissolved and a successor organization, the Interim National Olympic Committee of South Africa (INOCSA), was founded. This committee was recognized by the IOC in July 1991. South African athletes were allowed to compete in the 1992 Barcelona Games . Instead of the national flag, a special Olympic flag was used. Beethoven's Ode to Joy was used as the hymn .
1992 to 2000
South Africa's Olympic team in Barcelona consisted of 93 athletes, including 25 women. South African archers, badminton players, canoeists, horse riders and table tennis players celebrated the Olympic debut. Long-distance runner Elana Meyer won a silver medal in the 10,000 meter run. Tennis players Wayne Ferreira and Piet Norval also won silver in the men's doubles.
The swimmer Penelope Heyns achieved her first Olympic victory after the IOC suspension at the Atlanta Games in 1996 . On July 21, 1996 she won the 100-meter chest, two days later her second victory over 200-meter chest followed. Marianne Kriel won bronze over 100 meters back. The women's medley relay with Heyns, Kriel as well as Mandy Loots and Heleen Muller took fourth place. There was another Olympic victory in athletics. Josia Thugwane won the marathon. Hezekiél Sepeng won the silver medal in the 800-meter run . In Atlanta for the first time judoka and a South African men's hockey selection took part.
In Sydney 2000 , South Africa first took part in baseball, soccer and triathlon. Three medals were won in athletics. In the high jump, Hestrie Cloete won the silver medal. Llewellyn Herbert won bronze in the 400 meter hurdles, and bronze also went to Frantz Kruger in the discus throw. Hezekiél Sepeng was only 0.13 seconds short of winning the bronze medal in the 800 meter final. The swimmer Terence Parkin won silver in the 200 meter chest. Penelope Heyns won her third Olympic medal with a bronze over 200 meters chest. Sarah Poewe , who started for Germany in 2004, came fourth in this race .
2004 until today
In 2004 in Athens another Olympic victory could be celebrated. The men's 100-meter freestyle relay won in the formation of Lyndon Ferns , Ryk Neethling , Roland Schoeman and Darian Townsend. Schoeman won two other medals: silver over 100 meters freestyle and bronze over 50 meters freestyle. The athlete Mbulaeni Mulaudzi also won a silver medal in the 800-meter run and Hestrie Cloete for the second time in a row in the high jump. The rowers Donovan Cech and Ramon di Clemente won the bronze medal in a pair without a helmsman. For the first time, beach volleyball players and taekwondoin from South Africa took part in the Olympic Games.
South Africa won a silver medal in Beijing in 2008 from the athlete Godfrey Mokoena . Jean Basson swam just past a medal in the 200-meter freestyle final. With 83 hundredths of a second behind, he was fourth. Ramon di Clemente , this time with Shaun Keeling , qualified again for the final in a two-man without a helmsman. This time the boat reached 5th place. Flag bearer Natalie du Toit , a swimmer, was the first South African female athlete to compete in both the Paralympic Games and the Olympic Games. Du Toit won five gold and one silver medal at the 2004 Summer Paralympics . Despite her disability, her left leg was amputated from the knee down, she qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing and finished 16th in open water swimming. Shortly afterwards, she won another five gold medals at the 2008 Summer Paralympics .
South Africa performed more successfully again in London 2012 . In rowing, the coxless four-man with James Thompson , Matthew Brittain , John Smith and Sizwe Ndlovu became the first South African Olympic champion in rowing. There were two more Olympic victories in swimming. Chad le Clos won gold over the 200 meter dolphin in front of the American Michael Phelps , on the shorter distance he won silver behind Phelps at the same time as the Russian Yevgeny Korotyshkin . Cameron van der Burgh won over 100 meters chest. In athletics, Caster Semenya came second in the 800-meter run. However, the Russian winner Marija Savinova was convicted of doping and subsequently disqualified on February 10, 2017. As a result, Semanya was declared an Olympic champion almost five years later. Javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen was 38 centimeters short of the bronze medal in fourth place. A canoeist also won bronze. Bridgitte Hartley took 3rd place in a single kayak over 500 meters. The cyclist Burry Stander achieved a top place in the mountain bike race with 5th place.
138 participants formed the largest South African team to date at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games . South Africa participated in the first ever Olympic rugby sevens and golf . In Rio de Janeiro athletes celebrated two Olympic victories. Wayde van Niekerk won over 400 meters, Caster Semenya was able to defend her title from London. Silver went to the long jumper Luvo Manyonga , who was only beaten by an inch and was in the lead until the last attempt. Sunette Viljoen came second in the javelin throw. The swimmers Chad le Clos over 200 meters freestyle and 100 meters dolphin and Cameron van der Burgh over 100 meters chest won further silver medals . The third Olympic rowing medal was won with silver by Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keeling in two without a helmsman. The triathlete Henri Schoeman finished third and thus won bronze. Bronze also went to the men's rugby sevens selection.
Winter games
With four athletes, South Africa first took part in the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley . The first Olympic winter athletes were the figure skaters Marcelle Matthews and Gwyn Jones in pair skating.
After the IOC ban, South Africa did not participate again until 1994 in Lillehammer . For the first time, a short-track runner took part. A South African ski racer competed for the first time in Nagano in 1998 and a skeleton skier and cross-country skier in Turin in 2006 .
Art competitions
South African artists took part in the art competitions in 1924, 1936 and 1948. The sculptor Stephen Eloff took part in 1924 with two of his works ( javelin throwers and boxers ) in the competition statuary .
In 1936 seven artists submitted their works. In the painting division Grace Browne was represented with three works ( costume study , accident and Bevendean Farm ). The sculptor Elizabeth Benson submitted her work Shangaan in the round sculptures category . For the following painters and their works it is not known in which category they participated: Ann Graham with Black and White Illustrations , Erika Hartig with Wotan and Baccara (two well-known German jumpers), Monica McIvor with Xosa with doctors in conclave , Elizabeth , Pahlindlela : Xosa, Tribe , Hot day among rocks in Crocodile River and Kopjes near Johannesburg , Alan Gourley with Plenty and Paul Hahn and Gee Burchardt with Der deutsche Adler .
In 1948 three artists participated with four works and won two medals. The writer Ernst van Heerden won silver in the lyric works category for his work Six Poems . The painter Walter Battiss won bronze in the category of engravings and etchings with his work Sport am Meeresufer , and he also took part with The Quagga Race in the category of oil paintings and watercolors . The category in which George Pilkington submitted his work Yacht Racing is not known.
IOC members
South Africa currently has two IOC members. The sports teacher and anti-apartheid activist Sam Ramsamy has been a member since 1995 . Film producer Anant Singh followed in 2016 .
Application to host the Olympic Games
With Cape Town , only one South African city has applied to host the Olympic Games. Cape Town submitted the application to host the 28th 2004 Summer Olympics. The election took place at the 106th IOC session in Lausanne on September 5, 1997. Competitors were Athens (Greece), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Istanbul (Turkey), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rome (Italy), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Seville (Spain) and Stockholm ( Sweden). Applications from Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, San Juan, Saint Petersburg and Seville were not accepted.
In the first ballot, Athens had 32 votes, ahead of Rome (32), Stockholm (20) and Cape Town and Buenos Aires (both 16). Cape Town won the runoff election with 62:44 against Buenos Aires, which was eliminated. The second round saw Athens lead with 38 votes, Rome followed with 28 votes, Cape Town with 22 votes and Stockholm with 19. Stockholm was out of the running. In the third ballot, Cape Town received only 20 votes against Athens with 52 and Rome with 35. This means that Cape Town was also eliminated. In the end, Athens won the election with 66 votes ahead of Rome with 41 votes.
Overview of the participants
Summer games
year | Athletes | Flag bearer | sports | Medals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
total | m | w | total | rank | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1896-1900 | not participated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1904 | 8th | 8th | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1908 | 14th | 14th | 0 | Doug Stupart | 6th | 4th | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1912 | 21st | 21st | 0 | 7th | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8th | 1 | 4th | 2 | 6th | 7th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1920 | 39 | 38 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 7th | 1 | 7th | 1 | 3 | 4th | 3 | 10 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1924 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 4th | 7th | 4th | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 18th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1928 | 24 | 18th | 6th | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6th | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 23 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1932 | 12 | 10 | 2 | Harry Hart | 4th | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1936 | 30th | 30th | 0 | Clarke Scholtz | 14th | 2 | 6th | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1948 | 32 | 31 | 1 | 6th | 3 | 3 | 8th | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4th | 18th | ||||||||||||||||||||||
1952 | 64 | 60 | 4th | Schalk Booysen | 13 | 5 | 1 | 6th | 8th | 5 | 4th | 5 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 8th | 3 | 2 | 4th | 4th | 10 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||
1956 | 50 | 44 | 6th | 9 | 6th | 2 | 8th | 7th | 4th | 6th | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4th | 4th | 33 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1960 | 55 | 53 | 2 | Hermanus van Zyl | 7th | 6th | 6th | 3 | 8th | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | |||||||||||||||||||
1964-1988 | excluded from the IOC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1992 | 93 | 68 | 25th | Jan Tau | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6th | 2 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 41 | ||||||||||||||
1996 | 84 | 64 | 20th | Masibulele macipula | 22nd | 6th | 6th | 2 | 7th | 5 | 1 | 5 | 8th | 1 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
2000 | 127 | 89 | 38 | Hezekiél Sepeng | 23 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 14th | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8th | 1 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 24 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 55 | ||||||||||||||
2004 | 106 | 66 | 40 | Mbulaeni Mulaudzi | 32 | 4th | 3 | 1 | 8th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6th | 1 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4th | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6th | 43 | |||||||||||
2008 | 134 | 75 | 59 | Natalie you Toit | 23 | 8th | 7th | 2 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 72 | ||||||||||||
2012 | 124 | 68 | 56 | Caster Semenya | 20th | 9 | 1 | 20th | 2 | 2 | 6th | 1 | 1 | 4th | 2 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 4th | 1 | 1 | 6th | 20th | |||||||||||||
2016 | 138 | 93 | 45 | Wayde van Niekerk | 39 | 7th | 14th | 3 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 2 | 13 | 4th | 2 | 6th | 2 | 10 | 30th | |||||||||||||||
total | 26th | 31 | 20th | 86 | 34 |
Winter games
year | Athletes | Flag bearer | sports | Medals | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
total | m | w | total | rank | ||||||||||
1924-1956 | not participated | |||||||||||||
1960 | 4th | 1 | 3 | 4th | ||||||||||
1964-1992 | excluded from the IOC | |||||||||||||
1994 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Dino Quattrocecere | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
1998 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Shirene Human | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Alex Heath | 1 | |||||||||
2006 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Alex Heath | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Oliver Kraas | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
2014 | not participated | |||||||||||||
2018 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Connor Wilson | 1 | |||||||||
total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
List of medal winners
Gold medals
Silver medals
Bronze medals
Medals by sport
sport | gold | silver | bronze | total |
---|---|---|---|---|
athletics | 9 | 13 | 7th | 29 |
Boxing | 6th | 4th | 9 | 19th |
swim | 6th | 6th | 6th | 18th |
tennis | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6th |
Cycling | 1 | 4th | 3 | 8th |
rowing | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
shoot | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Canoeing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Triathlon | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Rugby Sevens | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
total | 26th | 31 | 29 | 86 |
Web links
- South Africa in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
- South Africa on Olympic.org - The Official website of the Olympic movement (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Athletics at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Games: Men's Marathon ( Memento from April 17, 2020 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Andrew Honey: South Africa and the Olympic Movement (engl.) ( Memento of 17 May 2017 Internet Archive )
- ^ Announcement from BBC Sport from February 10, 2017 (Eng.)